Iora

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Ioras
Common Iora.jpg
Common iora ( Aegithina tiphia )
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Superfamily: Malaconotoidea
Family: Aegithinidae
G. R. Gray, 1869
Genus: Aegithina
Vieillot, 1816
Type species
Motacilla tiphia [1]
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

See text

The ioras are a small family, Aegithinidae, of four passerine bird species found in south and southeast Asia. The family is composed of a single genus, Aegithina. They were formerly grouped with the leafbirds and fairy-bluebirds, in the family Irenidae.

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus Aegithina was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot to accommodate the common iora. [2] [3] The genus name is from Ancient Greek aigithos or aiginthos, a mythical bird mentioned by Aristotle and other classical authors. [4] The common iora was described in 1758 and given the binomial name Motacilla tiphia by Carl Linnaeus, but there was a some confusion about the nature of bird Linnaeus was referring to. Early taxonomists considered it to variously be a warbler, flycatcher, finch or babbler. When G. R. Gray erected the family Aegithinidae in 1869 he included a number of babbler genera in it with the ioras. Edward Blyth, working in the 1850s, was the first to connect the ioras with the leafbirds and fairy-bluebirds, and included all these with the bulbuls. [5]

Species of Aegithinidae

ImageCommon NameScientific nameDistribution
Common Iora.jpg Common iora Aegithina tiphiaIndian subcontinent and Southeast Asia
Marshall's Iora nbr MG 1386 GarimaBhatia.jpg Marshall's iora Aegithina nigroluteaIndia and Sri Lanka.
Green Iora (Aegithina viridissima).jpg Green iora Aegithina viridissimaThai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo
Great Iora 0A2A3463.jpg Great iora Aegithina lafresnayeiCambodia, China, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Description

The ioras are small to medium small sized passerines, ranging from 11.5 to 15.5 cm (4.5–6.1 in) in length. Overall the males are larger than the females. [6] These are reminiscent of the bulbuls, but whereas that group tends to be drab in colouration, the ioras are more brightly coloured. The group exhibits sexual dimorphism in its plumage, with the males being brightly plumaged in yellows and greens. Unlike the leafbirds, ioras have thin legs, and their bills are proportionately longer. Calls are strident whistles; songs are musical to human ears. [7] [8]

Habitat and distribution

There is some evidence that Marshall's ioras may be migratory in some of their range Aegithina nigrolutea.jpg
There is some evidence that Marshall's ioras may be migratory in some of their range

Their habitats include acacia scrub, forest edge, and closed forests, as well as agricultural land and (in the common iora) gardens. [7] They are generally lowland birds, with most reaching only as high as the submontane forests. They are generally highly arboreal and usually occur in the tree canopy, with only very rare records of this family coming down to the ground. The family is overwhelmingly non-migratory, although in West India there is some evidence that Marshall's ioras and common ioras are partly migratory in the seasonal semi-desert fringe. [6]

Behaviour and ecology

Ioras eat insects and spiders, which they find by nimbly gleaning the leaves of the slenderest outer twigs. [7]

In the two species whose male courtship displays are known, they are elaborate, culminating in the males' parachute-style descent looking like "green balls of fluff". The nests are compact open cups felted to branches with spiderweb. Females lay 2 or 3 eggs, which have pinkish speckles and red and purple lines. They incubate at night; the males, by day. Incubation lasts about 14 days. [7] Both parents are responsible for brooding and feeding the chicks. [6]

Relationship with humans

Ioras will commonly live close to humans and even lives in the suburbs of cites like Singapore. They are mostly not threatened by human activities, although the green iora is listed as near threatened by the IUCN, habitat loss being responsible for its decline. Unlike many other passerines they are not common species in the cage bird trade.

Related Research Articles

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

Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that includes the typical warblers and a number of babblers formerly placed within the Old World babbler family. They are found in Eurasia and Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old World babbler</span> Family of birds

The Old World babblers or Timaliidae, are a family of mostly Old World passerine birds. They are rather diverse in size and coloration, but are characterised by soft, fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The timaliids are one of two unrelated groups of birds known as babblers, the other being the Australasian babblers of the family Pomatostomidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairy-bluebird</span> Genus of birds

The three fairy-bluebirds are small passerine bird species found in forests and plantations in tropical southern Asia and the Philippines. They are the sole members of the genus Irena and family Irenidae, and are related to the ioras and leafbirds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leafbird</span> Genus of birds

The leafbirds (Chloropseidae) are a family of small passerine bird species found in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. They were formerly grouped with the ioras and fairy-bluebirds in the family Irenidae. As presently defined, the leafbird family is monogeneric, with all species placed in the genus Chloropsis. A large molecular phylogenetic study published in 2019 found that the family Chloropseidae is sister to the family Irenidae containing the fairy-bluebirds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugarbird</span> Genus of birds

The sugarbirds are a small genus, Promerops, and family, Promeropidae, of passerine birds, restricted to southern Africa. In general appearance and habits, they resemble large, long-tailed sunbirds or some of the Australian honeyeaters, but are not closely related to the former and are even more distantly related to the latter. They have brownish plumage, the long downcurved bill typical of passerine nectar feeders, and long tail feathers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common iora</span> Species of small passerine bird

The common iora is a small passerine bird found across the tropical Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with populations showing plumage variations, some of which are designated as subspecies. A species found in scrub and forest, it is easily detected from its loud whistles and the bright colours. During the breeding season, males display by fluffing up their feathers and spiral in the air appearing like a green, black, yellow, and white ball.

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

Marshall's iora, also known as the white-tailed iora, is a songbird in the genus Aegithina found in parts of India and Sri Lanka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passerida</span> Clade of birds

Passerida is, under the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, one of two parvorders contained within the suborder Passeri. While more recent research suggests that its sister parvorder, Corvida, is not a monophyletic grouping, the Passerida as a distinct clade are widely accepted.

<i>Malia grata</i> Species of bird

The malia is a medium-sized babbler-like passerine. It has an olive-green plumage, yellowish head and chest, and pinkish-brown bill. The young is duller than the adult. It is the only member of the genus Malia.

<i>Nicator</i> Genus of birds

The nicators are a genus, Nicator, and family, Nicatoridae, of songbirds endemic to Africa. The genus and family contain three species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crested drongo</span> Species of bird

The crested drongo is a passerine bird in the family Dicruridae. It is black with a bluish-green sheen, a distinctive crest on the forehead and a forked tail. There are two subspecies; D. f. forficatus is endemic to Madagascar and D. f. potior, which is larger, is found on the Comoro Islands. Its habitat is lowland forests, both dry and humid, and open savannah country. It is a common bird and the IUCN has listed it as "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown babbler</span> Species of bird

The brown babbler is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is predominantly found in West Africa, but ranging from the Gambia to Kenya. The species is common across its range. The species is also known as the Sudan babbler.

References

  1. "Aegithinidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. Vieillot, Louis Pierre (1816). Analyse d'une Nouvelle Ornithologie Élémentaire (in French). Paris: Deterville/self. p. 44.
  3. Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1960). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 9. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 300.
  4. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 33. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  5. Wells, D (2018). del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Sargatal, Jordi; Christie, David A; de Juana, Eduardo (eds.). "Ioras (Aegithinidae)" . Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 Wells, David (2005), "Family Aegithinidae (Ioras)", in del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Christie, David (eds.), Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 10, Cuckoo-shrikes to Thrushes, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp.  278–290, ISBN   84-87334-72-5
  7. 1 2 3 4 Mead, Christopher J.; Wells, D. R. (2003). "Ioras". In Perrins, Christopher (ed.). The Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds . Firefly Books. p.  507. ISBN   1-55297-777-3.
  8. Hume, AO (1877). "Remarks on the genus Iora". Stray Feathers. 5: 420–452.