Marshall's iora (''Aegithina nigrolutea''), also known as the white-tailed iora, is a

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5,00 ...

in the genus '' Aegithina'' found in parts of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Distribution and identification

The status of the species has been debated, and has only since 2003 returned to widespread acceptance at its original rank as a full species.Wells, D.R., E.C. Dickinson & R.W.R.J. Dekker. (2003) Systematic notes on Asian birds. 34. A preliminary review of the Aegithinidae. Zool. Verh. Leiden 344, 12-ix.2003: 7-15.
full text
/ref>Rasmussen, P and J Anderton (2005) Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions and Smithsonian Institution. Earlier suggestions have been that it was a clinal variant of the common iora ''

Aegithina tiphia The common iora (''Aegithina tiphia'') 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 a ...

''. The diagnostic features of the species are the short wing and tail; white edging to tertials converging broadly at the tip, versus tertial tips black to only narrowly white in ''A. tiphia'' and a smaller and shorter bill than ''A. tiphia'' from any part of India. The vocalizations are also different. The species is best known from northwestern India, however a few verified specimen records exist from southern India. It is now also known from Sri Lanka. There are some races of the

common iora The common iora (''Aegithina tiphia'') 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 a ...

that may appear similar to this species: Salim Ali collected a specimen in the Biligirirangan Hills which was commented upon by

Hugh Whistler Hugh Whistler (28 September 1889 – 7 July 1943), Zoological Society of London, F.Z.S., British Ornithologists' Union, M.B.O.U. was an England, English police officer and ornithologist who worked in India. He wrote one of the first field guides t ...

:Ali, S. (1942) Birds of Mysore. J. Bombay. Nat. Hist. Soc. 43(3): 318-341 (p. 323) Whistler's comments have been subsequently debated and Daniel Marien notes that the southern boundary of the species is not well understood and further notes that the Biligirirangans specimen commented upon by Whistler was identified positively by

Biswamoy Biswas Biswamoy Biswas (2 June 1923 – 10 August 1994) was an Indian ornithologist who was born in Calcutta, the son of a professor of geology.Mayr, E. (2000) "In Memoriam: Biswamoy Biswas, 1923–1994." ''The Auk'' 117(4):103PDF/ref> In 1947, he was ...

as ''A. nigrolutea''. Adult females of both species are entirely green above, except for a black tail with white central feathers in ''A. nigrolutea'', and yellow (dull in winter, brighter in spring) below. The juvenile and first-winter plumages in both sexes of both species are similar to their adult female plumages. First-year birds are best identified by their more pointed and somewhat narrower tail feathers.

Walter Koelz Walter Norman Koelz (September 11, 1895 – September 24, 1989) was an American zoologist and museum collector. Walter Koelz's parents were immigrants from the Black Forest region of Germany, and his father was a village blacksmith in Waterloo, w ...

collected two adult specimens of the species at Salem, and the distribution range of the species is believed to overlap significantly with that of ''A. tiphia''.

Habits

The species is believed to have a courtship display not unlike that of the common iora. It breeds from June to August and nests low in a bush. It is presumed to be resident but little is known.

References

External links

Photographs from the Oriental Bird Club collection
{{Taxonbar, from=Q998697 Aegithinidae Birds of India Birds of Sri Lanka Birds described in 1876