Animalia Life

Chloropsis aurifrons
TAXONOMY
Phyllornis aurifrons Temminck, 1829, India.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Gold-fronted chloropsis, green bulbul, gold-fronted fruitsucker; French: Verdin а front d’or; German: Goldstirnblattvogel; Spanish: Verdнn de Frente Dorado.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
7.5 in (19 cm). Green plumage with golden-orange forehead, black border around blue throat, and bright blue wing patch.
DISTRIBUTION
Himalayan foothills, larges areas of the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka, southwest China, Myanmar, and Indochina, with an isolated population in Sumatra.
HABITAT
Prefers more forested conditions than blue-winged leafbird, but also more likely to be found in middle canopy than other leafbirds.
BEHAVIOR
Usually in pairs or small parties. A highly accomplished mimic.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Vigorously hunts insects and spiders, and equally busy nectar feeder. Also eats some fruits.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Monogamous. Noisy, frantic courtship involving chasing, screeching, and hanging upside down. Nest is loose shallow cup of tendrils, roots, etc, lined with soft plant material, near tip of branch, but concealed by foliage, in tall tree. Two eggs.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened, though heavily exploited for cage bird trade, and subject to habitat loss in many parts of range.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Important pollinator. Traditionally popular cage bird, both for appearance and as songbird and mimic.

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