| Javan leafbird | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Chloropseidae |
| Genus: | Chloropsis |
| Species: | C. cochinchinensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Chloropsis cochinchinensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | |
The Javan leafbird (Chloropsis cochinchinensis) is a species of leafbird found in old-growth and second growth forests in Java. It was formerly considered as conspecific with the widespread blue-winged leafbird.
The Javan leafbird was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae . He placed it with the thrushes in the genus Turdus and coined the binomial name Turdus cochinchinensis. [2] [3] Gmelin based his account on "Le verdin de la Cochinchine" that had been described in 1775 by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in his multi-volume work Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. [4] A hand-coloured engraving by François-Nicolas Martinet was published separately to accompany Buffon's text. [5] Cochinchina is a historical name for Vietnam. The Javan leafbird is now one of 12 leafbirds placed in the genus Chloropsis that was introduced in 1827 by William Jardine & Prideaux Selby. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the blue-winged leafbird (Chloropsis moluccensis). [6]
The species is endangered largely due to overexploitation for the Asian songbird trade. Although leafbirds were a moderately popular choice of cage birds for many years, the popularity of leafbirds skyrocketed in recent years after the greater green leafbird (C. sonnerati) became exceptionally sought-after. As the Javan leafbird is a primarily lowland-dwelling species, it is at high risk of severe overexploitation as its entire range is accessible to trappers. There have been reports of loss of C. cochinchinensis from previously-occupied sites while the habitat remains unchanged, indicating the risks that trapping poses to the species. [7]
