Animalia Life

Cissa chinensis
SUBFAMILY
Corvinae
TAXONOMY
Cissa chinensis Boddaert, 1783, Mergui, Tenasserim, Myanmar. Five subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Green hunting crow, hunting cissa; French: Pirolle verte; German: Jagdelster; Spanish: Urraca Verde.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
14.43–15.21 in (37–39 cm); male 4.55–4.65 oz (130–133 g), female 4.2–4.34 oz (120–124 g). A bulky-bodied bright green bird with a wide black mask, chestnut wings, and long, graduated tail. Bill, legs, and feet are bright red.
DISTRIBUTION
Mainland tropical Southeast Asia, also Borneo and Sumatra.
HABITAT
Lowland and hill forest.
BEHAVIOR
Shy bird that gives whistling call from dense undergrowth. Small groups move through forest outside breeding season in company with other bird species.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Hunts low in undergrowth for insects. Also small birds, reptiles, amphibians, fruit, and berries.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Solitary nester on platform nest often built in bamboo or vines. Lays three to seven eggs January through April. No information known about incubation or fledging.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened, but uncommon throughout its range.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Commonly trapped for the cage bird trade, where it is known as a cissa.

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