Magpie-robin


The magpie-robins or shamas are medium-sized insectivorous birds in the genus Copsychus. They were formerly in the thrush family Turdidae, but are now treated as part of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. They are garden- and forest-dwelling species found in Africa and Asia.
The genus Copsychus was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1827. The type species was subsequently designated as the Oriental magpie-robin by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1840. The name Copsychus is from the Ancient Greek kopsukhos or kopsikhos, meaning "blackbird".
The genus contains 12 species:
ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
Copsychus fulicatusIndian robinBangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
Copsychus saularisOriental magpie-robinBangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, eastern Pakistan, eastern Indonesia, Thailand, southern China, Malaysia and Singapore
Copsychus pyrropygusRufous-tailed shamasouthern Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo
Copsychus albospecularisMadagascan magpie-robinMadagascar
Copsychus sechellarumSeychelles magpie-robinthe Seychelles
Copsychus mindanensisPhilippine magpie-robinthe Philippines
Copsychus malabaricusWhite-rumped shamaMalaysia
Copsychus albiventrisAndaman shamathe Andaman Islands
Copsychus stricklandiiWhite-crowned shamaBorneo
Copsychus luzoniensisWhite-browed shamathe Philippines
Copsychus nigerWhite-vented shamaPalawan, Balabac and Calamian in the Philippines
Copsychus cebuensisBlack shamaCebu in the Philippines-

The Seychelles magpie-robin is one of the most endangered birds in the world, with a population of less than 250, although this is a notable increase from just 16 in 1970.