Vietnamese Cutia Cutia legalleni Scientific name definitions

17·5–19·5 cm. Male nominate race has forehead to nape dull bluish-tinged slaty grey, broad black mask from bill through eye and ear-coverts to nape, cutting sharply to bright rufous-chestnut upperparts , including long uppertail-coverts extending half-way along blackish tail, outer tail with white tips; upperwing black with buffy-grey scapulars and dull bluish-grey fringes of flight-feathers; chin to moustachial area, lower neck side and upper throat white, lower throat, breast and mid-belly white with long narrow black bars forming broken irregular lines, same on remaining underparts but with pale buff wash; iris brown to dark brown; bill black, greyish lower mandible; legs yellow to yellowish-orange, yellowish-green or brownish-yellow. Differs from very similar C. nipalensis in having lower throat and entire underparts barred black, shorter wing with buffy-grey (rather than buffy-olive) scapulars, longer tail (so that distance between elongated uppertail-coverts and tail tip longer), and white outer tail tips. Female differs from male in having drab chocolate-brown crown and ear-coverts, and grey-brown mantle, back and scapulars with long, broad blackish streaks. Juvenile is duller than adult; juvenile female differs from adult in having mantle and back warmer brown, fewer black markings below, and these are more spot-like. Race hoae male has narrow underpart barring as nominate, but with white anterior underparts and mid-belly, grey scapulars, female undescribed.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Insects; also seeds and berries. Creeps along branches and trunks; movements generally rather slow. Occurs in small groups, often with other babblers.

Several different song  types recorded. Distinctive “wuyeet wu wi wi wi wi woo” (initial part of first phrase rising sharply), repeated every 3–6 seconds; and loud high-pitched strident “wiii-chiwu-wipwi-weei-weei…” or “wipwi-weei-weei-weei” (first note and second part of second note stressed), repeated at similar intervals and interspersed with 3–4 note “wii chiwi-chiwi...” (perhaps not by same bird). Also a quite fast, loud, fairly high-pitched “wei-wuu-wei-wuu” (“wei” notes more stressed).

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. Locally common. Present in Thuong Da Nhim and Chu Yang Sin Nature Reserves, on Da Lat Plateau (S Annam).