Kangean shama | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Muscicapidae |
Genus: | Copsychus |
Species: | C. nigricauda |
Binomial name | |
Copsychus nigricauda (Vorderman, 1893) |
The Kangean shama (Copsychus nigricauda) is a medium sized passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae that is endemic to the Kangean Islands in Indonesia. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the white-rumped shama. The species may be extinct in the wild.
The Kangean shama was formally described in 1893 by the Dutch scientist Adolphe Vorderman under the binomial name Cittocincla nigricauda. [1] [2] The specific epithet combines the Latin niger meaning "black" with cauda meaning "tail". [3] The Kangean shama is now placed with 16 other species in the genus Copsychus that was introduced in 1827 by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler. [4] It was formerly considered as subspecies of the white-rumped shama (Copsychus malabaricus) but is now treated as a separate species based on morphological differences and a molecular genetic study of museum specimens published in 2022. [4] [5] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [4]
The Kangean shama has glossy blue-black upperparts, bright chestnut underparts apart from a white vent, a white rump and an almost entirely black tail with white tips to the outer feathers. The sexes are similar in plumage but the tail is shorter in females. [6]
The Kangean shama is highly threatened by the pet trade and is possibly extinct in the wild. [6] [7] [8]