The Bornean treepie (''Dendrocitta cinerascens'') is a

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

belonging to the

treepie The treepies (known also as crypsirinines from the subfamily's name, Crypsirininae) comprise four closely related genera (''Dendrocitta'', ''Crypsirina'', ''Temnurus'' and ''Platysmurus'') of long-tailed passerine birds in the family Corvidae. Th ...

s genus, ''

Dendrocitta ''Dendrocitta'' is a genus of long-tailed passerine birds in the crow and jay family, Corvidae. They are resident in tropical South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. The generic name is derived from the Greek language, Greek words ''dendron'', mean ...

'', of in the

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

family,

Corvidae Corvidae is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan Family (biology), family of Songbird, oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, Rook (bird), rooks, magpies, jackdaws, jays, treepies, choughs, and Nutcracker (bird), nutcrackers ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the island of

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. It is sometimes treated as a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the

Sumatran treepie The Sumatran treepie or Sunda treepie (''Dendrocitta occipitalis'') is a species of bird in the family Corvidae. It is endemic to the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtro ...

(''D. occipitalis'').

Description

It is a fairly large bird, 40 centimetres in length, including a long graduated tail, broad rounded wings and short weak legs. The underparts are pinkish-brown. The head is also pinkish-brown with a pale silver crown and a dark stripe over the eye and across the forehead. The back is greyish and the rump is pale. The wings are black with a white patch and the tail is grey with black tips to the feathers. The

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

and legs are grey-black and the eyes are reddish. The Sumatran treepie differs in having a pale brown back, a dark brown head with a white nape and a thinner bill. The Bornean treepie is a noisy bird with a variety of loud, explosive calls including a bell-like whistle and various grunting and chattering calls. It is able to mimic the calls of other birds.

Ecology

It is fairly common in most mountain ranges in the northern and central parts of Borneo. It mainly occurs between 300 and 2,800 metres above sea-level, being most common in valleys and foothills at the lower end of that range. It inhabits

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

, forest edge,

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

thickets and

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

and is sometimes seen in cultivated areas. It forages in the tree canopy, alone or in small groups, searching for small

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s and large

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s such as

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

s and

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are insects belonging to the Order (biology), order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known Pest (organism), pests. Modern cockro ...

es. It can become tame, visiting villages to feed on scraps. Little is known about its breeding habits. The

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

is shallow, built of fine twigs and placed in a low tree. The

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

are greenish-white with brown markings concentrated in a ring at the wider end.

References

*Davison, G. W. H. & Chew Yen Fook (1996) ''A Photographic Guide to Birds of Borneo'', New Holland, London. *MacKinnon, John & Phillipps, Karen (1993) ''A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali'', Oxford University Press, Oxford. *Madge, Steve & Burn, Hilary (1993) ''Crows and Jays'', Christopher Helm, London. *Strange, Morten (2001) ''A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Indonesia'', Christopher Helm, London.

External links

Oriental Bird Images: Bornean treepie ''Dendrocitta cinerascens''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q766640 Dendrocitta Endemic birds of Borneo Birds described in 1879