Copsychus Saularis Research Articles

Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) nestlings adapt their begging behavior to the host signal system

Common Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) dependent on parental care for post-hatching demonstrate an intriguing ability to modify their begging vocalizations to ensure maximum care and resources from their interspecific foster parents. Here, we compared begging calls of the Common Cuckoo nestlings fed by four host species, the Grey Bushchat (Saxicola ferreus), Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus), Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus), and Oriental Magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis). Results showed that begging calls of the stonechat–, redstart–, and robin–cuckoo resemble those of host species' nestlings in various aspects like low frequency, high frequency, frequency bandwidth and peak frequency, while the bushchat–cuckoo chicks' begging calls were only comparable to their host species in terms of how long they lasted and their peak frequency. In addition, cuckoo nestlings raised in different host nests displayed significant variations in their begging calls in low and peak frequency. This study suggests that cuckoo nestlings do not mimic host species nestlings' begging calls throughout the nestling period, but may tune their begging calls according to host species, while begging calls vary with cuckoo and host species nestlings' ages. Future research should study the parents’ reactions to these calls in different host species for a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying such adaptations.

Enhancing bird conservation in tropical urban parks through land sparing and sharing strategies: Evidence from occupancy data

Urban green spaces such as parks, play a vital role in relieving pressure on urban biodiversity. In Southeast Asia, urban park management often prioritises aesthetic appeal over urban biodiversity conservation. Management of wildlife habitat at the stand and landscape scales is necessary to support land-sharing and land-sparing conservation strategies in urban environments. To date, few studies have looked at the occurrence of urban birds in the context of land sharing and sparing strategies. We investigated how resident and migratory birds utilise urban parks based on stand-level habitat characteristics and landscape metrics. We conducted point count surveys at 49 points to estimate site occupancy and detection probability in 40 parks within highly urbanised Klang Valley, Peninsular Malaysia. Out of 90 species recorded, 14 species had more than 50 % site occupancy. The abundance of palm trees, percentage of shrub, and height of ground vegetation and woody trees positively influenced the occupancy of Black-naped Oriole, Javan Myna, House Crow, Oriental Magpie-Robin, and Yellow-vented Bulbul. While the number of woody trees and elevation negatively influenced the occupancy of Asian Glossy Starling, Spotted Dove, Zebra Dove, and Common Myna. Our findings can contribute to the effective management of urban parks, considering both stand and landscape-level characteristics to support urban biodiversity, ultimately benefiting both resident and migratory bird populations. Our research emphasises the significance of implementing both land-sparing and land-sharing strategies in urban park management. By doing so, we can promote greater avian biodiversity, preserve diverse habitats for birds, and establish crucial ecological corridors within urban landscapes.

Diversity, Dominance, and Conservation Status of Bird Species Traded in Bird Shops Around of Jambi City

Maintaining bird diversity is essential for preserving biodiversity. The popularity of bird keeping as a hobby is due to their attractive colours and sounds, as well as their economic value. However, the breeding and trading of various bird species has led to the development of bird races and competitions. This study aims to determine the diversity, dominance, and conservation status of songbird species that are traded and competed in Jambi City. The study is a descriptive field research that showcases our expertise in the field. In August 2023, the study confidently employed structured observations and interviews through a questionnaire. The analysis confidently used the variety index, evenness index, and dominance index. The research confidently identified ten species, two of which are protected: The Cucak hijau Chloropsis sonneratii (Chloropseidae) and the Serindit melayu Loriculus galgulus (Psittacidae). The bird species have been classified into three categories based on their IUCN conservation status: endangered (10%) Chloropsis sonneratii, vulnerable (20%) Alophoixus tephrogenys and Zosterops melanurus, and least concern (70%) Copsychus saularis, Kittacincla malabarica, Leptocoma brasiliana, Zosterops simplex, Loriculus galgulus, Agapornis sp., and Serinus canaries

Comparison of Reproductive Strategies between Two Sympatric Copsychus Passerines.

Reproduction plays a crucial role in determining the development, fate, and dynamics of bird populations. However, reproductive strategies vary among species and populations. In this study, we investigated the reproductive strategies of the Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis) and White-rumped Shama (C. malabarica), which are closely related passerines that reproduce in sympatric areas. We found that although these two species were both cavity nesting, their nest-site selection differed; the Shama preferred nesting close to trees and forests, whereas the Magpie Robin nested close to human residential areas. Furthermore, their egg incubation patterns differed; the Shama increased daily incubation frequency with incubation time, but the Magpie Robin maintained its daily incubation time regardless of changes in incubation frequency. However, the nestling heating patterns of these two species were similar, indicating a critical demand for regulating hatchling body temperature during this crucial stage. The feeding frequencies of male parents were strongly correlated with those of females in both species, suggesting equal contribution and good synchronization between the sexes. Nestling feeding frequency was also correlated with nest cleaning frequency, implying coordination between feeding and defecation by parents and offspring, respectively. This research explored the divergence and convergence of reproductive strategies between these two sympatric species, providing valuable insights into the niche differentiation theory.

Predation of Daurian redstarts offspring in nest boxes by the Oriental magpie-robin and tree sparrow.

Birds select suitable nest sites for breeding to ensure their own and offspring's survival; however, they inevitably suffer some potential predation risk. We studied the breeding ecology of Daurian redstarts (Phoenicurus auroreus) by providing nest boxes for their breeding from March to August of 2022. We recorded the predation of both Daurian redstarts eggs or nestlings by Oriental magpie-robins (Copsychus saularis) and tree sparrow (Passer montanus). Oriental magpie-robin were recorded attacking a feeding female adult and depredating nestlings. After the nestling predation event, the Daurian redstarts abandoned the nest. This video evidence provide a better understanding of the potential predators of cavity-nesting birds.

The Impact Of Palm Oil Plantations On Bird Diversity In Palm Oil Estates In Nagari Salareh Aia, Palembayan Sub-District, Agam District

This study aimed to see the effect of the existence of oil palm agricultural land on bird populations in the Agam area of West Sumatra Province. Observations were made directly by taking primary and secondary data.The species of birds that were identified during the observations were Pycnonotus goiaver (Merbah Cerocok) important value index 68.75 %, Streptopelia chinensis (Tekukur) IVI 42.50, Prinia familiaris (Prenjak Java) IVI 35.00 %, Colocalia esculenta (Cow Swallow) IVI 18.75 %, Copsychus saularis musicus (Murai) IVI 13.75 %, Halcyon smyrnensis (Javanese gecko) IVI 8.75 %, Rhipidura javanica (Stripe fan) IVI 6.25 % and Porzana cinerea (White Eyebrow Rat) with IVI 6.25%. The diversity of bird species in the oil palm plantations is low because only 8 bird species were found. The results of this study were basic data that need to be developed because there are effects that need to be multiplied further. The existence of oil palm plantations has an effect on the diversity of animal populations, especially birds around the land.

Monetary evaluation of supporting ecosystem services as a habitat provider for birds in Thailand urban park

Abstract. Yarnvudhi A, Leksungnoen N, Siri S, Ponpithuk Y, Sukmasuang R, Duengkae P, Pongcharoen C, Sutummawong N, Marod D, Wachrinrat C, Premashthira A, Tor-ngern P, Poungcharean S, Hermuk S, Kachina P. 2022. Monetary evaluation of supporting ecosystem services as a habitat provider for birds in Thailand urban park. Biodiversitas 23: 4747-4758. Supporting services are important services to maintain ecosystems by providing habitats for organisms and genetic diversity. In this study, the monetary value of supporting services for bird habitats in urban parks was evaluated based on the price for nursing each bird species and market value. Bird diversity was conducted using point count observation. We found total of 53 bird species, 27 families and 8 orders in the park. Total monetary benefit for bird habitats in this park was estimated to be around USD60,354.12 per individual bird with an average value of USD1,138.76 per bird per species. The top three species with the highest monetary value were the Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala), Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans), and Chinese Pond Heron (Ardeola bacchus). The species diversity index of the bird community (H') was 2.73 and the most abundant bird species were Eastern Spotted Dove (Spilopelia chinensis), Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus), Eastern jungle crow (Corvus levaillantii), Oriental magpie robin (Copsychus saularis), and Coppersmith Barbet (Psilopogon haemacephalus). Among 4 microhabitats, birds were found the most in the trees, followed by lawn, grassland, and wetland areas. The small urban parks should be designed with diverse microhabitats to provide various ecological functions to attract and ensure adequate resources for organisms.

Urban Low-Rise Residential Areas Provide Preferred Song Post Sites for a Resident Songbird.

Simple SummarySongbirds adjust their song traits to adapt to urban environments from rural ones. However, the effects of the intraurban environmental variation on resident birds have received little attention. Here, we assessed the distribution and song differences of a common songbird—the oriental magpie-robin—between three urban habitat types. Population density and song diversity were higher in low-rise residential areas than in urban parks, while high-rise residences were rejected by birds. Overall, these results suggest that low-rise residential areas may provide preferred song post sites for this urban resident bird.Urbanization is expanding rapidly worldwide, and brings additional selection pressure on animals. The song differences between urban and rural songbirds have been widely verified, but the effects of urban morphological variation on long-settled urban birds have been poorly explored. Here, we investigated the distribution and song differences of a common resident songbird—the oriental magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis) between three urban morphology types (i.e., urban park, low-rise residential area, and high-rise residential area). The results indicated that the population density in low-rise residential areas was significantly higher than in urban parks, while it was the lowest in high-rise residential areas. Males in low-rise residential areas had greater song length, syllable numbers, frequency bandwidth, and song diversity than those in urban parks. The song differences were mainly related to habitat types, independent of singing height and perch type. Our findings suggest that low-rise residential areas may provide preferred song post sites for the oriental magpie-robin, which is well-adapted to the low-rise building morphology, but rejects the emerging high-rise buildings. Future studies are needed to assess the effects of urban morphological variation on more resident animals to determine which urban morphologies are conducive to enhancing biodiversity and encouraging animals to settle in urban areas.

Comparison of the Structure of Leg and Pectoral Muscles between Lonchura striata and Copsychus saularis

Background: Bird is important in maintaining biodiversity and its lifestyles and behaviors will pose an important impact on the ecological environment. Birds are also inseparable for ecological stability. Birds’ movement and living habits are a widely studied topic. Methods: Two economic valuable birds, Lonchura striata and Copsychus saularis, were selected in this study. It aims at investigating the characteristics of muscle fiber tissues and comparing the differences between male and female species. Histological techniques were used to determine the characteristics of the muscle fiber (diameter, area and density) in leg and pectoral muscles. Result: There were differences in the muscle fiber characteristics of the Lonchura striata and the Copsychus saularis. The characteristics of muscle fibers between males and females of the same species were significantly different and there were also significant differences in the same parts of different species. The diameter and area of muscle fibers are correlated to the density of muscle fibers. This study suggested that the characteristics of muscle fibers are related to their living habits and population characteristics.

Response of bird community to gradual landscape transformation in Darmaga campus, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia

When a landscape gradually transforms, the bird community that inhabits the landscape will also adapt and change accordingly. Long-term data on the bird-habitat relationship, however, is still lacking in the sub-urban tropical areas. The objective of this paper was to analyze the response of bird community along with the gradual transformation of the landscape. Darmaga Campus of IPB University (± 2.67 km2) was selected as the study area due to its landscape transformation for campus development/construction, and the availability of bird monitoring data. Data on landscape transformation were gathered from the IPB building construction book published in 2017, and bird community (1982-2020) were gathered from published reports and papers. During the observed period, Darmaga Campus that initially consisted mostly of old rubber plantation has been gradually transformed into various academic-related uses, such as some areas for buildings dan field laboratories. From 1982 to 2020, the cumulative bird species in the study area at least was 124 species. During the observed years, the bird community was highly dynamics (bird species number in 1982 = 41 species, 1985 = 39 species, 1986 = 68 species, 1991 = 68 species, 2001 = 39 species, 2003 = 72 species, 2013 = 52 species, 2020 = 99 species). New incoming species were Chestnut-winged Cuckoo, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Tiger Shrike, and babblers (e.g., Black-capped Babbler); Brown Shrike, White-rumped Shama, Oriental Magpie-Robin and Green Junglefowl have not been observed or have become increasingly rare in the last ten years. Meanwhile, Red-breasted Parakeet, Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker, Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker, Black Drongo, and Sooty-headed Bulbul are always present species. Bird species such as Orange-headed Thrush, White-rumped Shama, White-browed Shortwing, and Velvet-fronted Nuthatch are species that entered to rarely found species. Gradual landscape transformation, from an old rubber plantation into a mosaic of small patches of human-made ornamental plants, shrub, and tree plantation, turns out to be beneficial for some bird species, but could also disadvantageous for others, causing a dynamic bird community composition.

Non-Kin Infanticide by Male Oriental Magpie Robins in Nest Boxes

Although a number of infanticide cases have been recorded among birds, since the incidence of this behavior is, overall, low and difficult to confirm, the importance of infanticide in the cause analysis of breeding failure is likely to be underestimated. During the breeding season of March to August 2019, we observed two cases of non-kin infanticide in Oriental Magpie Robins Copsychus saularis in nest boxes. The first incident occurred during the absence of the nesting male during the brooding period and in the sole presence of the female; another male entered the nest box and continuously attacked and pecked all four eight-day-old nestlings in the nest until they died. A second incident occurred in the presence of both parents, but during the feeding interval; a male perpetrator entered the nest box and pecked and pushed the single three-day-old nestling out of the box. The parents continued to carry food to the nest and tried to feed their nestling even after the latter had been killed. The parents were observed behaving anxiously once they detected no sign of activity from their nestling. We speculated that these examples of non-kin infanticide by conspecific Oriental Magpie Robin males could be attributed to competition for food resources or mates.

Avian diversity of BKM science college campus, Valsad, Gujarat

Study on bird diversity in the campus of BKM Science College, Valsad was done, over a period of six months from June 2020 to May 2021. A total number of 63 bird species belonging to 23 families were recorded during the study covering an area of about 1,011 sq km. College campus has 15.2 % of the total bird species reported in Valsad region. The study was divided into different regions: Botanical Garden, Arts faculty, Law department, Science department and Cricket ground. Out of the 63 bird species observed, 4 were migratory namely, Yellow-footed green pigeon, Rosy-starling, Indian Pitta, Ashy drongo. The common bird species were Oriental Magpie robin, Jungle babbler, Common myna, spotted dove, Blue rock pigeon, House crow, Black drongo etc. The campus has wide variety of trees, which may be one of the major contributing factors for the richness of bird species.

Background noise but not urbanization level impacted song frequencies in an urban songbird in the Pearl River Delta, Southern China

Rapid urbanization has profoundly transformed habitats and increased noise pollution in urban environments. Elevated noise levels may mask acoustic signals of urban-dwelling organisms such as birds. Singing at higher frequencies is one of typical responses to avoid this masking effect. However, high-frequency signals experience larger attenuation when transmitting in open urban environments. Here, we tested how elevated noise and urbanization affect frequency characteristics and song complexity in the Oriental Magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis), a common urban songbird in tropical Asia. Song recording was conducted in seven cities in the Pearl River Delta, southern China, a highly developed region with rapid pace of urbanization. Our results showed that Magpie-robins sang with higher minimum and maximum frequencies in noisier areas. Neither noise level nor urbanization level impacted other song features, including song length, syllable rate, number of syllables, number of unique syllable types, and syllable transitions in songs. Furthermore, noise level did not affect the choice of song post sites. Our results imply elevated noise levels could induce spectral but not temporal and structural modifications. Taken together, our study adds to a growing number of publications illustrating how phenotypes of birdsongs have been changed in anthropogenic soundscapes.

Bird species contested at songbird competition in Jabodetabek Region, Indonesia

Songbird contests have been widely held in various regions lately, indicating the high interest of community towards this type of contest. The objectives of this study were to identify bird species contested in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi (Jabodetabek) region, classify them based on their conservation status, and collect other information related to bird conservation efforts. Of 20 bird contests that took place during the research period (March-May 2018) it was revealed that there were 15 species of birds (12 local species, 3 foreign species) that were contested. The species that was always contested in every event was Lovebird, while other frequently contested species (>50%) were Greater Green Leafbird, White-rumped Shama, Oriental Magpie-robin, and Canary. There was one protected species, i.e., Greater Green Leafbird that was contested. Based on the IUCN threat status, one vulnerable species was contested, i.e., Greater Green Leafbird. Near threatened species contested were Chestnut-capped Thrush and Lovebird. Based on CITES category, one species listed in Appendix II was found, i.e., Hwamei, which is a foreign species. Efforts made by the organizers of bird contests in bird conservation were to hold a class of rings (markers), to ensure that the contested birds originate from captive breeding.

Singing patterns of the Oriental Magpie Robin Copsychus saularis Linn.

Oriental Magpie Robin is a song bird that resides in some tropical regions of Asia. The present work was attempted to provide a detailed study of the territorial singing of this species in the area of Biratnagar (Nepal). Songs of Oriental Magpie Robin was recorded by using a digital voice recorder (Olympus VN-8700PC) for one hour without break at seven selected sites in Biratnagar. Recorded songs were converted in the form of spectrogram by using avisoft. Seven Oriental Magpie Robins, belonging to seven different study sites of Biratnagar were taken as subjects and have been abbreviated as Bird A, B, C, D, E, F and G respectively. It was very surprising that there was not even a single motif which was matching among any of the birds. Out of 1782 song samples recorded from seven individuals, 328 types of songs were identified. These songs were composed of 3 to 18 types of elements.

Call Types of the Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis) in Suburban Areas in Kota Samarahan, Sarawak

The Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis) is among the popular passerines songbird in Borneo. A study on the vocalisation of this tropical species has been conducted at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) Campus and Tanjung Bundong village areas, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak starting from March 2015 until February 2017 to understand more on their call types. Call samples were recorded from 38 individuals of Magpie Robin (8 colour-ringed males, 6 colour-ringed females, 10 juveniles and 14 nestlings) during breeding seasons. A total of six call types were successfully identified which were territorial, threat, submissive, juvenile, distress and begging calls. Both territorial and threat calls are uttered in response to the presence of an intruder in the vicinity of nesting sites while begging call is crucial to the nestlings as it stimulates parental food provisioning activities. Distress call was uttered when in stress situations while juvenile calls were associated with learning process to vocalise. Territorial, threat and begging calls were substantially important during breeding season and the survival of Magpie Robins.

Transaction records as a tool for bird trade monitoring in supporting bird’s conservation and sustainable use

Birds market survey has been proofed to be effective as a complementary method to evaluate the population of birds in the wild. We implemented this method to monitor the birds trade in Jambi. Rather than direct observation to the market, we examine the transaction records from three wholesalers to obtain data. Our results show that during the period of January-September 2017 the total birds traded is 11,660 specimens and transaction value is Rp 941,932,900.00. Number of generic species is 76 in which some names refer to same species. From those generic species, we can identify about 26 species and the rest of birds is grouped according to their genus or family by which consist of 11 kind of birds. There are 4 species (and group of species) that traded over 1000 specimens i.e Acridotheres javanicus (2,824), Chloropsis sp. (2,185), Garrulax mitratus (1,266), and Zosterops sp. (1,355). The expensive songbirds such as Pycnonotus zeylanicus and Kittacincla malabarica are absent but the least expensive species but favorable, Copsychus saularis, is only traded in small number (157 specimens). Combine field survey and market survey may give better picture of overall bird population that critical for setting up conversation strategy of Indonesian birds.

Appearance and Digestive System Comparison of Lonchura Striata and Copsychus Saularis: Searching for the Effect of Staple Feeding Ingredients on Avian Morphology

ABSTRACT This study explores the differences of appearance and the digestive systems of two birds (Lonchura striata and Copsychus saularis), which have the same eating pattern in staple ingredients. Each bird was caught naturally and euthanized in appropriate manner, followed by morphology survey on bill, duodenum, jejunum, ileum and appearance of the body parts such as Culmen, Claw, Wing, Tarsus, Toe and Tail. The results showed that the appearance feature between them presented significant differences in the beak length, wing length and tail length, which were correlated to their staple feeding habits. In addition, in the digestive system, the length of duodenum and duodenal indexes showed significant differences (p<0.05 or p<0.01), which was considered to be correlated to their predation rate. However, there were no significant differences in jejunum length, ileum length, and the whole digestive tract length and weight, the evidence showed that feeding habits still play a great role in the whole intestine. It is concluded that different staple feeding habits allow the birds to evolve different traits both in appearance and intestine, which aim to improve their predation rate and adapt to different environments. Among all features, duodenum and duodenal were the major objects to get stressed in digestive system, while beak length, wing length and tail length differed most in appearance. And it was speculated that different food compositions lead to different changes in certain positions of the body, thus might shape an explorable trail, which needs to be investigated thoroughly.

Vocal Response of Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis) to Urban Environmental Factors in Peninsular Malaysia

Anthropogenic noise and changes in environmental gradients resulted from urbanisation have been shown to alter vocalisation of urban birds in previous studies. This study examined the vocalisation of the Oriental Magpie Robin(Copsychus saularis; locally known as Murai Kampung) in relation to anthropogenic noise and environmental factors in the urban, suburban and rural areas in Peninsular Malaysia. We measured four ambient factors (i.e. ambient noise, temperature, relative humidity and light intensity) and two landscape factors (i.e. distance to building and distance to major roads) between January and June 2017 from six locations. A total of 147 recordings comprising territorial songs of the bird were obtained and transcribed into spectrograms. Six parameters, namely lowfrequency, high frequency, frequency ranges, length of strophe, number of elements per strophe, and time interval between strophes were derived from spectrograms for each recording. In urban areas, low frequency of the songs was found to have increased significantly as compared to those recorded in suburban and rural areas. The difference in noise, temperature and relative humidity in urban and suburban environment had led to both single and interaction effects towards the Oriental Magpie Robin’s song parameters, i.e. low frequency, length of strophe, time interval between strophes and number of elements per strophe. The results evidenced the ability of the Oriental Magpie Robin in regulating and altering their song structure according to itssurrounding environment. This implies its vocal plasticity which is important in ensuring the efficiency in transmission of songs and is likely to explain why the bird is less susceptible to urbanisation.

Preliminary Study: Application of Spot-mapping Technique for Estimating the Size of Oriental Magpie Robin Cospychus saularis (Aves: Muscicapidae) Territories in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)

Breeding territoriality plays a role in determining the reproduction outcome of many passerines species. The spot-mapping was used to estimate the breeding territory size of a territorial male of Oriental Magpie robin (Cospychus saularis) at Dahlia College, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak which is located within Kota Samarahan. It was conducted by mapping the song perching locations established by a marked male. The breeding territory size of the male was estimated to be 0.78 hectares. The data analysis was done using Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) which was constructed by using Google Earth Pro software. Study on breeding territory size of this bird species is crucial to understand more regarding the breeding behaviour of this species. Data on the behavior of this species could be used for future studies of this bird in Borneo.