Bornean stubtail

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Bornean stubtail
Bornean Stubtail 0A2A1444.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cettiidae
Genus: Urosphena
Species:
U. whiteheadi
Binomial name
Urosphena whiteheadi
(Sharpe, 1888)
Urosphena whiteheadi map.svg
Synonyms [2]

The Bornean stubtail (Urosphena whiteheadi) is a species of bird in the cettiid warbler family Cettiidae. It is endemic to the island of Borneo, where it inhabits forest floors and undergrowth in montane forests at elevations of 750–3,150 m (2,460–10,330 ft). It is a small, short-tailed warbler, measuring 9.5–10 cm (3.7–3.9 in) in length and having an average mass of 10.4 g (0.37 oz). The tops of the head and the upperparts are brown, with whitish underparts that turn grey at the sides of the breast and the flanks . The supercilium (stripe above the eye) is long and buffish-brown, with an equally long dark grey eyestripe (stripe through the eye) and a thin yellow eye-ring. Both sexes are similar.

Contents

The species feeds on invertebrates, especially green aphids, foraging in a mouse-like manner on the ground and in undergrowth. Nests are made out of reddish plant fibres, with incubation taking 24 days on average. It is classified as being of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to its sufficiently large range and stable population.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Bornean stubtail was described as Orthnocichla whiteheadi by the British ornithologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe in 1888 on the basis of specimens from Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. [4] It was later moved to the genus Tesia . [3] In 1942, the American ornithologist Jean Delacour moved the species into the subgenus Urosphena within the genus Cettia . [5] The American ornithologist Ben King raised Urosphena to the status of a genus in 1989. [6]

The name of the genus, Urosphena, means wedge-tailed and is derived from the Ancient Greek words oura (tail) and sphēnos (wedge). The specific name whiteheadi refers to John Whitehead, a British explorer who collected the specimens based on which this species was described. [4] [7] Bornean stubtail is the official common name designated by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOU). [8] Other common names for the species are short-tailed bush warbler, short-tailed stubtail, and Whitehead's stubtail. [9]

The Bornean stubtail is classified by the IOU as one of 32 species in the cettiid warbler family Cettiidae. [8] However, some authorities classify Cettiidae as a subfamily in an expanded Scotocercidae. [10] Within the family, it is currently placed in Urosphena, a genus of three species of undistinguished brownish birds with short tails. [8] [11] A 2011 study of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA found that within the family, the present species is most closely related to the Asian and Timor stubtails. These species are sister (most closely related) to a clade (group of organisms descending from a common ancestor) formed by the pale-footed bush warbler and Neumann's warbler. The following cladogram shows relationships within the genus according to the study: [lower-alpha 1] [11]

Urosphena

Asian stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps)

Bornean stubtail (Urosphena whiteheadi)

Hemitesia

Pale-footed bush warbler (Hemitesia pallidipes)

Neumann's warbler (Hemitesia neumanni)

Description

A Bornean stubtail in Kinabalu Park Urosphena whiteheadi 102414918.jpg
A Bornean stubtail in Kinabalu Park

The Bornean stubtail is a very small warbler with long legs and a very short tail, measuring 9.5–10 cm (3.7–3.9 in) in length and having an average mass of 10.4 g (0.37 oz). [12] The top of the head and the upperparts are brown, while the underparts are greyish-white, turning grey at the side of the breast and the flanks . The belly is often light yellow-brown. The supercilium (stripe above the eye) is long and buffish-brown, with an equally long dark grey eyestripe (stripe through the eye) and a thin yellow eye-ring. The cheeks and ear-coverts are orange-buff. The legs are pale pink, the bill is dark brownish-black, and the iris is blackish. Both sexes look similar. [13] [14]

Vocalisations

The Bornean stubtail's vocalisations are poorly known, with the species usually staying silent. Its song is a single extremely high-pitched note 0.3–0.5 seconds long. The most common sound is a barely audible, high-pitched tsit-tst tseee or tzi-tzi-tzeeee 1.4 seconds long. Another vocalisation is a slightly lower, trilled piririt around 0.7 seconds long. [13] [14]

Distribution and habitat

Endemic to Borneo, the Bornean stubtail is found in the mountain ranges of Borneo, from Mount Kinabalu south to Liang Kubung, the Müller Mountains, Mount Dulit, and Gunung Menyapa. It has also been recorded from the southeastern part of the Meratus Mountains in the southeastern part of the island. The species inhabits the forest floor and undergrowth of montane forests at altitudes of 750–3,150 m (2,460–10,330 ft). [13] [14]

Behaviour and ecology

The species is usually found alone. [13] It has a generation length of 3.6 years. [1]

The Bornean stubtail feeds on invertebrates, especially green aphids. It forages on the ground and in dense undergrowth, creeping about in an inconspicuous manner more like that of a mouse than a bird. [13] However, it can sometimes be quite curious and docile. [13] [14]

Nests consist mostly of reddish plant fibres and are built on mossy banks. [13] The incubation of the eggs takes an average of 24 days, which is unusually long compared to other species in its range. The length is caused by the long periods of time (around 6–8 hours every day) that parents spend away from the nest. [15]

Status

The Bornean stubtail is classified as being of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to its sufficiently large range and stable population. Its population has not been estimated, but it is a common species above elevations of 2,000 m (6,600 ft). [1] It is present in some protected areas like Kinabalu Park. [13]

Notes

  1. The study did not include samples of the Timor stubtail. However, the authors hypothesised that it was most closely related to the Asian and Bornean stubtails due to similarities in appearance and vocalisations. [11]

Related Research Articles

Old World warblers are a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. They are not closely related to the New World warblers. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the cisticolas into Cisticolidae and the kinglets into Regulidae. In the past ten years they have been the subject of much research and many species are now placed into other families, including the Acrocephalidae, Cettiidae, Phylloscopidae, and Megaluridae. In addition some species have been moved into existing families or have not yet had their placement fully resolved. A smaller number of warblers, together with some babblers formerly placed in the family Timaliidae and the parrotbills, are retained in a much smaller family Sylviidae.

<i>Cettia</i> Genus of birds

Cettia is a genus of small insectivorous songbirds ("warblers") which make up the core of the newly recognized family Cettiidae. They were formerly placed in the Sylviidae, which at that time was a wastebin taxon for the warbler-like Sylvioidea. The range of this genus extends from Europe to southeast Asia.

<i>Bradypterus</i> Genus of birds

Bradypterus is a genus of small insectivorous songbirds ("warblers") in the newly recognized grass warbler family (Locustellidae). They were formerly placed in the Sylviidae, which at that time was a wastebin taxon for the warbler-like Sylvioidea. The range of this genus extends through the warm regions from Africa around the Indian Ocean and far into Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Whitehead (explorer)</span> English explorer and zoologist

John Whitehead was an English explorer, naturalist and professional collector of natural history specimens in Southeast Asia. He is the first documented person to reach the summit of Mount Kinabalu: this was in 1888, after annual attempts from 1885.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberrant bush warbler</span> Species of bird

The aberrant bush warbler is a species in the bush warbler family, Cettiidae. It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape grassbird</span> Species of bird

The Cape grassbird or Cape grass warbler is an African warbler found in southern Africa. It is the only species placed in the genus Sphenoeacus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine bush warbler</span> Species of bird

The Philippine bush warbler, also known as the Luzon bush warbler, is a species of bird in the family Cettiidae. It was formerly conspecific with the Japanese bush warbler. It is found only in the Philippines in the Cordillera Mountain Range of northern Luzon. It is found in tropical montane forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neumann's warbler</span> Species of bird

Neumann's warbler, also known as Neumann's short-tailed warbler, is a species of bird in the family Cettiidae. It is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.

Hemitesia is a genus of Old World warblers in the family Cettiidae, formerly classified in the family Sylviidae. The genus was erected by James Chapin in 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut-headed tesia</span> Species of bird

The chestnut-headed tesia is a small insectivorous songbird formerly of the "Old World warbler" family but nowadays placed in the bush warbler family (Cettiidae).

<i>Tesia</i> Genus of birds

The tesias are a genus, Tesia, of Old World warbler. Though once included in the large family Sylviidae, more recent research placed it within a new family, Cettiidae. The four species inhabit undergrowth of montane forest in South and Southeast Asia, where they are resident or short-range migrants. They have longish legs and appear tailless, with (seemingly) only 8 rectrices. Their simple songs are fairly loud, and their nests are typically ball-shaped. Their name is derived from Tisi, the Nepalese name for the grey-bellied tesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Javan tesia</span> Species of bird

The Javan tesia is a species of Old World warbler in the family Cettiidae. It is endemic to Java in Indonesia. The Javan tesia is a small tesia with long legs and almost no tail. It feeds on insects in the undergrowth of broadleaf forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cettiidae</span> Family of birds

Cettiidae is a newly validated family of small insectivorous songbirds ("warblers"), formerly placed in the Old World warbler "wastebin" assemblage. It contains the typical bush warblers (Cettia) and their relatives. As a common name, cettiid warblers is usually used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitehead's broadbill</span> Species of bird endemic to Borneo

Whitehead's broadbill is a species of bird in the family Calyptomenidae. It is endemic to the mountain ranges of north-central Borneo, where it mainly inhabits montane forests and forest edges at elevations of 900–1,700 m (3,000–5,600 ft). It is 24–27 cm (9.4–10.6 in) long, with males weighing 142–171 g (5.0–6.0 oz) and females weighing 150–163 g (5.3–5.7 oz). Males are vivid green and have a black throat patch, black spots on the ear-coverts and back of the neck, and black markings and streaking all over the body. The tails and flight feathers are also blackish. Females are smaller and lack the black markings on the head and underparts. Juveniles look similar to adults but have fewer black markings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bare-headed laughingthrush</span> Species of bird endemic to Borneo

The bare-headed laughingthrush is a species of bird in the Old World babbler family Timaliidae. It is endemic to highland forests at elevations of 750–1,800 m (2,460–5,910 ft) in the mountain ranges of north-central Borneo, along with some outlying peaks. It is 25–26 cm (9.8–10.2 in) long, with both sexes similar in appearance. The head is brownish to greenish yellow and featherless. The area along the lower mandible has a bluish tinge. The rest of the body is dull blackish-brown tinged with grey. Juveniles have more feathers on the head, extending from the forehead to the crown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streaked scrub warbler</span> Species of bird

The streaked scrub warbler, also known simply as the scrub warbler, is a small passerine bird. It is the only species placed in the genus Scotocerca. It is found in northern Africa and south-western Asia. It is a bird of desert fringes, frequenting scrubby areas, ravines and gorges, and is mainly resident, although local movements can occur outside the breeding season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitehead's trogon</span> Species of bird

Whitehead's trogon is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. It is endemic to the island of Borneo, where it is an uncommon resident in primary mountain forest. One of Borneo's largest trogons at 29 to 33 cm long, it is sexually dimorphic. The male is crimson on the head, nape, and underparts, with a black throat and grey chest; the rest of his upperparts are cinnamon-coloured. The female is similarly patterned, but cinnamon-brown where the male is scarlet. The species was first described for science by Richard Bowdler Sharpe in 1888, who named it for British explorer and collector John Whitehead. There are no subspecies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borneo montane rain forests</span> Ecoregion in Borneo

The Borneo montane rain forests is an ecoregion on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It includes montane tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, also known as a cloud forests. The ecoregion is partly in East Malaysia and Indonesia (Kalimantan).

<i>Horornis</i> Genus of birds

Horornis is a genus of small insectivorous songbirds ("warblers") which make up the core of the newly recognized family Cettiidae. They were formerly placed in the Sylviidae, which at that time was a wastebin taxon for the warbler-like Sylvioidea. The range of this genus occurs from southeast Asia throughout the western Pacific. The most recently described species is the Bougainville bush warbler from Bougainville Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut-hooded laughingthrush</span> Species of bird endemic to Borneo

The chestnut-hooded laughingthrush is a species of bird in the laughingthrush family Leiothrichidae endemic to Borneo. Described by the British ornithologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe as a distinct species in 1879, it was subsequently considered a subspecies of the chestnut-capped laughingthrush until 2007, when it was again raised to species status by the ornithologists Nigel Collar and Craig Robson. It is 22–24 cm (8.7–9.4 in) long, with a chestnut brown head and chin, with grey feathering on the top of the head. The upperparts and the side of the neck are slaty-grey, with a long white wing patch. The throat, breast, and upper belly are dull yellowish-brown, with purer grey flanks and a reddish-brown vent, lower belly, and thighs. It has a yellow half eye-ring behind and below the eye, while the tail has a blackish tip. Both sexes look similar, while juveniles are duller than adults.

References

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  2. "Urosphena whiteheadi (Bornean Stubtail)". Avibase . Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  3. 1 2 Chasen, Frederick N. (1935). A handlist of Malaysian birds: a systematic list of the birds of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and Java, including the adjacent small islands. Singapore: Printed at the Government Printing Office, Singapore. p. 231. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.119907. OCLC   220730327 via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  4. 1 2 Sharpe, Richard Bowdler (1888). "Diagnoses of some new species of birds obtained on the mountain of Kina Balu by Mr. John Whitehead". Ibis . 30 (4): 478–479. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1888.tb08508.x. LCCN   79010132. OCLC   1377260 via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  5. Delacour, J. (2008-04-03). "The Bush-Warblers of the genera Cettia and Bradypterus, with notes on allied genera and species". Ibis . 84 (4): 509–519. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1942.tb03450.x.
  6. King, Ben (1989). "The avian genera Tesia and Urosphena". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club . London: British Ornithologists' Club. 109: 162–166 via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  7. Jobling, James A. (2010). Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 397, 407. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4. OCLC   1040808348.
  8. 1 2 3 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David & Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2023-07-15). "Cupwings, crombecs, cettiid bush warblers, Streaked Scrub Warbler, yellow flycatchers, hylias". IOC World Bird List. v 13.2. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  9. "Urosphena whiteheadi (Bornean Stubtail)". Avibase . Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  10. Winkler, David W.; Billerman, Shawn M. & Lovette, Irby J. (2020-03-04). Billerman, Shawn M.; Keeney, Brooke K.; Rodewald, Paul G. & Schulenberg, Thomas S. (eds.). "Bush Warblers and Allies (Scotocercidae)". Birds of the World. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi:10.2173/bow.scotoc1.01. S2CID   216318390 . Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  11. 1 2 3 Alström, Per; Höhna, Sebastian; Gelang, Magnus; Ericson, Per GP & Olsson, Urban (2011). "Non-monophyly and intricate morphological evolution within the avian family Cettiidae revealed by multilocus analysis of a taxonomically densely sampled dataset". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 11 (1): 352. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-11-352 . PMC   3261208 . PMID   22142197.
  12. Boyce, Andy J.; Mouton, James C.; Lloyd, Penn; Wolf, Blair O. & Martin, Thomas E. (2020). "Metabolic rate is negatively linked to adult survival but does not explain latitudinal differences in songbirds" (PDF). Ecology Letters. 23 (4): 642–652 [646]. doi:10.1111/ele.13464. PMID   31990148. S2CID   210936008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-10-24. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Clement, Peter (2020-03-04). Billerman, Shawn M.; Keeney, Brooke K.; Rodewald, Paul G. & Schulenberg, Thomas S. (eds.). "Bornean Stubtail (Urosphena whiteheadi)" . Birds of the World. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi:10.2173/bow.borstu1.01. S2CID   216190857 . Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Myers, Susan (2016). Birds of Borneo: Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan. Illustrated by Richard Allen, Hilary Burn, Clive Byers, Daniel Cole, John Cox, Anthony Disley, Alan Harris, Szabolcs Kokay, Mike Langman, Ian Lewington, Andrew Mackay, Stephen Message, Christopher Schmidt, Jan Wilczur, and Tim Worfolk (Second ed.). London: Christopher Helm. p. 248. ISBN   978-1-4729-2444-5. OCLC   944318084.
  15. Martin, Thomas E.; Ton, Riccardo & Oteyza, Juan C. (2018). "Adaptive influence of extrinsic and intrinsic factors on variation of incubation periods among tropical and temperate passerines". The Auk . 135 (1): 101–113. doi: 10.1642/AUK-17-124.1 . S2CID   26470996.