White-rumped Shama

2 Jul

Copsychus malabaricus

Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand

From the pristine evergreen montane forests of Bukit Fraser in Malaysia we now head to Thailand. To the dense rain forest on the eastern slope of the Tenasserim Mountain Range in the Kaeng Krachan National Park where the Pranburi & Phetchaburi Rivers originate. Kaeng Krachan National Park is the largest national park of Thailand on the border with Burma, contiguous with the Tanintharyi Nature Reserve.

The park was declared a reserve in 1964 and on 12 June 1981 it became the 28th national park of Thailand. Originally covering an area of 2,478 km², it was enlarged in December 1984 to include the boundary area between Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan Provinces, an additional 300,000 rai. The park has been included in the list of ASEAN Heritage Parks. Since 2011, Thailand has proposed that Unesco designate Kaeng Krachan National Park a world heritage site.

Here we spot the beautiful White-rumped Shama - a small passerine of the family Muscicapidae. Native to densely vegetated habitats in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, its popularity as a cage-bird and songster has led to it being introduced to the Hawaiian Islands & Taiwan.

A thrush like bird with a long, graduated tail. The males are a glossy black above and a rich chestnut below while females are similar but paler. The Juveniles are a reddish brown with rusty wingbars. The Bornean birds have a bright white crown. They occurs in dense lowland and hill forests, forest edge, and overgrown orchards and plantations and are widely poached for the cagebird trade throughout much of their native range. The song is a varied series of loud whistles and flutelike notes, often involving mimicry of other birds with no repeat phrases. Their call is a sharp “tsick.”

Kaeng Krachan National Park is located in Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan Provinces, about 60 km from Phetchaburi and 75 km from Hua Hin. It is bounded by the Tanintharyi Nature Reserve along Myanmar's border to the west and part of the Western Forest Complex that covers 18,730 km² across 19 protected sites between Myanmar and Thailand. There are two main rivers in the park; Phetchaburi and Pran Buri Rivers. Both rivers originate from the Tanaosri Mountain Range. In the north, Phetchaburi River flows into Kaeng Krachan Dam and flows further east all the way out to the Gulf of Thailand. Pran Buri River flows south to Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, into Pran Buri Reservoir and out to the Gulf of Thailand.

The highest elevation in the park is a peak along the Burmese border at around 1,500 meters. The park is popular for wildlife which doesn’t necessarily mean it is easy. The possibilities depend on the seasons and seasonal conditions for various types of animals. Mammals like leopards, clouded leopards, bears, stump-tailed macaques, sambhar, barking deer, elephants, dholes, golden jackal, gaur, serows, crab-eating mongoose and tapirs can be spotted in the park. There also used to be a significant tiger population in the park up until a decade ago, but only a few are left now.

Langurs, stump-tailed macaques, white-handed gibbons, sambar, mouse deer, porcupines, monitor lizards, civets and black giant squirrel are frequently seen. White-handed gibbons can be seen or heard nearly every day, often seen at the edge of the campsites.

Featured below are some videos from Kaeng Krachan National Park - The Asian Forest Tortoise, Butterfly Puddling, the Spot-bellied Eagle Owl & the sounds of the forest itself. Read more about my owls.

Tiger

Read about the tigers I have spent time with.

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White-rumped Shama

The White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus) is a small passerine bird of the family Muscicapidae. Native to densely vegetated habitats in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, its popularity as a cage-bird and songster has led to it being introduced in places like Hawaii & Taiwan. It was formerly classified as a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, causing it to be commonly known as the white-rumped shama thrush or simply shama thrush.

The nominate race is found in the Western Ghats and parts of southern India while leggei is found in Sri Lanka. Race indicus is found in the northern parts of India. Race albiventris is found in the Andaman Islands and now usually considered a distinct species, the Andaman shama. Race interpositus from southwestern Asia-China to Myanmar, Thailand and the Mergui Archipelago. Southern China has race minor while mallopercnus is found in the Malay peninsula. Race tricolor is found in the Sumatra, Java, Banka, Belitung and Karimata islands. Race mirabilis from the Sunda Strait, melanurus from northwestern Sumatra, opisthopelus, javanus, omissus, ochroptilus, abbotti, eumesus, suavis (Borneo), nigricauda, stricklandii and barbouri are the other island forms. The last two are sometimes regarded as a separate species, the white-crowned shama (C. stricklandii).

This thrush like bird has a long, graduated tail. They typically weigh between 28 and 34 g (1.0 and 1.2 oz) and are around 23–28 cm (9–11 in) in length. Males are glossy black with a chestnut belly and white feathers on the rump and outer tail. Females are more greyish-brown, and are typically shorter than males. Both sexes have a black bill and pink feet. Juveniles have a greyish-brown colouration, similar to that of the females, with a blotchy or spotted chest. The Bornean birds have a bright white crown. They occur in dense lowland and hill forests, forest edge, and overgrown orchards and plantations and are widely poached for the cagebird trade in much of their native range. The song is a varied series of loud whistles and flutelike notes, often involving mimicry of other birds; does not repeat phrases. Call is a sharp “tsick.”

The voice of this species is rich and melodious which makes them popular as cage birds in South Asia with the tradition continuing in parts of Southeast Asia. It is loud and clear, with a variety of phrases, and often mimics other birds. They also make a 'Tsick' call in alarm or when foraging. One of the first recordings of a bird song that was ever made was of this species. This recording was made in 1889 from a captive individual using an Edison wax cylinder by Ludwig Koch in Germany.

They are native across scrub and secondary forests in South and Southeast Asia, but have been introduced to Kauai, Hawaii, in early 1931 from Malaysia (by Alexander Isenberger), and to Oahu in 1940 (by the Hui Manu Society). Their popularity as a cage bird has led to many escaped birds establishing themselves. They have been introduced to Taiwan where they are considered an invasive species, eating native insect species and showing aggression towards native bird species.

In Asia, their habitat is dense undergrowth especially in bamboo forests. In Hawaii, they are common in valley forests or on the ridges of the southern Koolaus, and tend to nest in undergrowth or low trees of lowland broadleaf forests. The following gallery showcases this beautiful shama - observed & photographed in the dense forests of the Kaeng Krachan National park in Thailand.

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