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Hooded Treepie Crypsirina cucullata Scientific name definitions

Steve Madge
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2009

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

29–31 cm; c. 130–135 g. Small, slender light grey treepie with distinctive black hood and wings and very long black tail (of ten, not twelve, rectrices) which has almost spoon-shaped expansion at tip, rather short but stout bill with curved culmen; feathers of forecrown and lores soft and velvet-like, forming cushion over nares. Hood from upper nape down to throat black with oily green sheen, narrow whitish-grey border surrounding hood, being most noticeable on nape; body plumage almost uniformly light grey, washed bluish-grey above and mauve-fawn below; upperwing-coverts and tertials fawn-grey, greater coverts fringed whitish, tertials tipped whitish, primaries and primary coverts black, outer secondaries blackish with whitish outer webs (forming narrow white panel on folded wing); central tail feathers black, remainder pale fawn-grey (these normally concealed when tail closed; iris dark blue, orbital ring blackish; bill and legs black. Sexes similar. Juvenile is duller and browner grey than adult, with dark brown hood, tail tip narrow (not spoon-shaped), bill blackish, with extensive orange inside mandibles and at base of lower mandible, iris probably dark brown, narrow light blue orbital ring; after first moult, differs from adult in being darker grey above, lacking narrow pale border to hood, retains narrow-tipped tail feathers, gape patch smaller and yellower than juvenile; some yellow may be visible on gape into second year.

Systematics History

Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Lowlands of C & S Myanmar.

Habitat

Lowland open dry forests to 950 m, in plains of R Irrawaddy and R Sittang; little of this forest remains, but it seems to survive in remaining patches of deciduous woodland. Also about stands of bamboo and in thorn-scrub jungle, with clearings surrounding villages, and mixed secondary growth.

Movement

Sedentary, as far as is known.

Diet and Foraging

Little precise information. Reported prey items included grasshoppers and locusts (Orthoptera), mantids (Mantidae) and winged termites (Isoptera). Feeds almost entirely inside foliage of bushy growth and in lower to middle canopy of larger trees. Usually encountered singly, in pairs or in family parties, moving through cover; flocks of up to 30 recorded on occasion.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Poorly documented. Contact call a quiet purring "drrrriiii'k"; said also to give several harsh, discordant calls.

Breeding

Poorly studied. Eggs reported May and Jul. Solitary breeder. Nest described as resembling small, neat version of that of Pica pica, based on protective exterior of thorny twigs, which are continued over nest as partial dome; well hidden inside dense thicket or small tree. Clutch (three known) 2–4 eggs. No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife NT Near Threatened
Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near-threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Irrawaddy Plains EBA. Recently found to be not uncommon in suitable habitats. Partial reliance on lowland dry forest could render it vulnerable to habitat destruction. Main factor in its favour for its future survival is its tolerance of secondary forest and even scrub-jungle, and the fact that it is often seen around clearings with human habitations.
Distribution of the Hooded Treepie - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Hooded Treepie

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Madge, S. (2020). Hooded Treepie (Crypsirina cucullata), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.hootre1.01
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