Animalia Life

Hemipus hirundinaceus
TAXONOMY
Muscicapa hirundinacea Temminck, 1822, Java.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Echenilleur vйloce; German: Schwarzflьgelraupenschmдtzer; Spanish: Minivete de Alas Negras.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
6 in (15 cm); 0.4 oz (10 g). Black plumage with dusky white underparts and white rump.
DISTRIBUTION
Extreme south Thailand, peninsular Malaysia; Riau and Lingga Archipelagos to Sumatra, Borneo, Java, and Bali.
HABITAT
Canopy of forest, including swamp forest and tall secondary growth; also mangroves, mature plantations, and wooded gardens. Lowlands to 3,600 ft (1,100 m), but to 4,900 ft (1,500 m) in Java and Bali.
BEHAVIOR
Moves around in pairs or small parties; unobtrusive except for its short trilling or twittering calls
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Eats small insects.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
In Sumatra, Borneo, and peninsular Malaysia, it breeds January– April and August–November. Monogamous. Nest is a truncated cone with a cup-shaped depression, consisting of lichens, bryophytes, and spider webs and placed on a horizontal branch. Lays two eggs; young are fed by both parents.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened. Probably locally frequent to common, but was regarded as local and uncommon in Thailand in the 1980s–90s.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.

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