The Sulu jungle flycatcher (''Cyornis ocularis'') is a species of

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 in the Old World flycatcher family

Muscicapidae The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica'') and north ...

. 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

Sulu Archipelago The Sulu Archipelago ( Tausug: Kapū'-pūan sin Sūg Sulat Sūg: , ) is a chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean, in the southwestern Philippines. The archipelago forms the northern limit of the Celebes Sea and southern limit of the Sulu Se ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

s. While it has yet to be assessed by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

, this species is likely threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. The Sulu jungle flycatcher was split from the rufous-tailed jungle flycatcher (''Cyornis rufocauda'') as distinct species by the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

in 2021.

Description and taxonomy

EBird eBird is an online database of bird observations providing scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. Originally restricted to sightings from the Western Hemisphere, the project e ...

describes the Chestnut-tailed jungle flycatcher

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

as "Drab, medium-sized flycatcher with a long slender bill. Ranges from the southern Philippines to Borneo. Appearance differs across its range, but always look for a warm rufous tail, white throat, and diffusely brown-washed chest. Found in lowland and foothill forest in the Philippines, and in submontane and montane forest in Borneo. Makes forays from a low perch in the understory or forest edge. Song is a series of high and squeaky notes, often interspersed with buzzes.!” This bird is differentiated from its sister species as it has a prominent rufous eyering, light brown upper mandible and paler brown lower mandible, and pinkish legs. This species was previously placed in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Rhinomyias'' but was moved to ''

Cyornis ''Cyornis'' is a genus of birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae most of which are native to Southeast Asia. Taxonomy The genus ''Cyornis'' was introduced by the English zoologist Edward Blyth in 1843. He listed three species in ...

'' based on the results of a 2010

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study. The Sulu jungle flycatcher (''C. ocularis''), which is

to the

, and the

Crocker jungle flycatcher The Crocker jungle flycatcher (''Cyornis ruficrissa'') is a species of passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to Borneo. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. The Crocker ju ...

(''C. ruficrissa''), which is endemic to

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 ...

, were split as distinct species by the

in 2021. With the split, this species was renamed from rufous-tailed jungle flycatcher to Philippine jungle flycatcher.

Ecology and behavior

Diet is not well known but pressumed to consist of insects. Usually solitary but also observed in mixed-species flocks. Typically forages close to the forest floor and understorey. Nothing is known about its breeding habits.

Habitat and conservation status

It is found in tropical moist lowland forest. IUCN has yet to assess this bird as it does not yet recognize it as a separate species. All other birds endemic to the

are endangered species due to the deforestation that has occurred in the past decades. Due to this, as this species is also forest dependent, it is highly likely that it is threatened.

References

Cyornis Birds described in 1894 Endemic birds of the Philippines Taxa named by Frank Swift Bourns Taxa named by Dean Conant Worcester {{Muscicapidae-stub