Ratchet-tailed treepie

Ratchet-tailed treepie
In Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Subfamily: Crypsirininae
Genus: Temnurus
Lesson, 1831
Species:
T. temnurus
Binomial name
Temnurus temnurus
(Temminck, 1825)

The ratchet-tailed treepie (Temnurus temnurus) is a species of bird in the crow and jay family Corvidae. The species is also known as the notch-tailed treepie. It is monotypic within the genus Temnurus. This corvid is found in southeast Asia.

Taxonomy

The ratchet-tailed treepie was first formally described as Glaucopis temnura in 1825 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck with its type locality given as Cochinchina. In 1831 René Lesson described a new species, Temnurus truncatus, also from Cochinchina and placed it in the new genus, Temnurus, the name Temminck used was preoccuppied by Glaucopis Hübner, 1818 in Lepidoptera. Temnurus truncatus is now regarded as a synonym of Temminck's Glaucopis temnura. The genus Temnurus is monospecific and is classified in the subfamily Crypsirininae, the treepies, within the family Corvidae, which includes the crows, jays and related species.

Description

The ratchet-tailed treepie resembles the racket-tailed treepie (Crypsirina tenuis) but is disr=tinguished from it by its long, wide tail which has spikes projecting from the outer webs of its feathers. The overall colour is greyish-black with a blck face with dark red to brown eyes. Immatures have a less developed tail than adults. This species has atotal length of 32 to 35.5 cm (12.6 to 14.0 in), including 18 cm (7.1 in) of tail. The common calls are rather screechy "klee" and "klee-aw", with some squawking calls.

Distribution and habitat

The ratchet-tailed treepie has a disjunct distribution in Southeast Asia and China. One population is found in southern Thailand, another in southern Vietnam, another in central and northern Vietnam and Laos, and the last in Hainan in China. Its natural habitat is tropical moist broadleaf evergreen lowland forests, and secondary forest and scrubland.

Biology

The ratchet-tailed treepie is found in small family groups, in which the adults perform duets. They nest between April and June with 2 eggs being laid in a shallow cup among bamboo.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2016). "Temnurus temnurus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T22705862A94038926. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22705862A94038926.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Ratchet-tailed Treepie Temnurus temnurus (Temminck, CJ 1825)". Avibase - The World Bird Database. Denis Lepage. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  3. ↑ Jønsson, Knud A.; Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Ricklefs, Robert E.; Fjeldså, Jon (8 February 2011). "Major global radiation of corvoid birds originated in the proto-Papuan archipelago". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108 (6): 2328–2333. Bibcode:2011PNAS..108.2328J. doi:10.1073/pnas.1018956108. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 3038755. PMID 21262814.
  4. 1 2 Craig Robson (2000). A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia. New Holland. p. 372. ISBN 1853683132.
  5. 1 2 "Ratchet-tailed Treepie Temnurus temnurus". eBird. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  6. ↑ dos Anjos, Luiz (2007). "Family Corvidae (Crows)". In del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Christie, David (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 9. Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Editions.