White-Rumped Shama
Copsychus malabaricus
Also known as: Shama Thrush
About This Species
Search dense undergrowth in lowland forest and bamboo thickets across South and Southeast Asia for this striking bird, whose long, graduated tail and rich, varied song make it one of the region's most celebrated forest singers even though it stays low and often out of sight. Listen for extended bouts of fluting, mimicking song from dense cover, usually delivered from a low perch. Early morning in forest understory during the breeding season is the most reliable time to hear one singing.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Staying still and listening from a distance rather than pushing into dense cover gives the best views without disturbing this shy understory species.
- Wildlife protection laws vary across the many countries in its range, and it is also popular in the cage-bird trade in parts of Asia, so avoid any behaviour that could be mistaken for capture attempts.
- Never use playback repeatedly to draw a singing bird in, since this can pull it away from territory defence or nesting duties.
LCAvesPasseriformesMuscicapidae
Seasonal Activity
181,779 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
Photo
(c) Vijay Anand Ismavel, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)
CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.