{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Distinguish|Oriental magpie}} {{Speciesbox | name = Oriental magpie-robin | image = Oriental magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis ceylonensis) male.jpg | image_caption = Male ''C. s. ceylonensis'', Sri Lanka | image2 = Oriental magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis saularis) female Siem Reap.jpg | image2_caption = Female ''C. s. saularis'', Cambodia <br />thumb|Call | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International. |year=2017 |amends=2016 |title=''Copsychus saularis'' |volume=2017 |article-number=e.T103893432A111178145 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T103893432A111178145.en |access-date=24 May 2018}}</ref> | genus = Copsychus | species = saularis | authority = (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonyms = ''Gracula saularis'' {{small|Linnaeus, 1758}} }}
The '''Oriental magpie-robin''' ('''''Copsychus saularis''''') is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but now considered an Old World flycatcher. The males are distinctive black and white birds with a long tail that is held upright as they forage on the ground or perch conspicuously. Occurring across most of the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia, they are common birds in urban gardens as well as forests. They are particularly well known for their songs and were once popular as cagebirds.
The oriental magpie-robin is considered the national bird of Bangladesh.
==Description== This species is {{convert|19|cm|in}} long, including the long tail, which is usually held cocked upright when hopping on the ground. When they are singing a song the tail is normal like other birds. It is similar in shape to the smaller European robin, but is longer-tailed. The male has black upperparts, head and throat apart from a white shoulder patch. The underparts and the sides of the long tail are white. Females are greyish black above and greyish white under. Young birds have scaly brown upperparts and head.
The nominate race is found on the Indian subcontinent and the females of this race are the palest. The females of the Andaman Islands race ''andamanensis'' are darker, heavier-billed and shorter-tailed. The Sri Lankan race ''ceylonensis'' (formerly included with the peninsular Indian populations south of the Kaveri River)<ref name=hbk>{{cite book |author1=Ali, S |author2=S D Ripley |name-list-style=amp |title=Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan |edition=2nd |publisher=Oxford University Press |volume=8 |year=1997 |pages=243–247 |isbn=978-0-19-562063-4}}</ref> and southern nominate individuals have the females nearly identical to the males in shade. The eastern populations, the ones in Bangladesh and Bhutan, have more black on the tail and were formerly named ''erimelas''.<ref name=ras>{{cite book |author1=Rasmussen PC |author2=JC Anderton |name-list-style=amp |year=2005 |title=Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Volume 2 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions |page=395}}</ref> The populations in Myanmar (Burma) and further south are named as the race ''musicus''.<ref name=baker>{{cite journal |journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=27 |issue=4 |year=1921 |author=Baker, ECS |pages=87–88 |title=Handlist of the birds of the Indian empire |url=https://archive.org/details/handlistofgenera00bake}}</ref> A number of other races have been named across the range, including ''prosthopellus'' (Hong Kong), ''nesiotes'', ''zacnecus'', ''nesiarchus'', ''masculus'', ''pagiensis'', ''javensis'', ''problematicus'', ''amoenus'', ''adamsi'', ''pluto'', ''deuteronymus'' and ''mindanensis''.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The thrushes |year=1952 |author=Ripley, S D |pages=1–48 |journal=Postilla |volume=13 |url=https://archive.org/stream/postilla150peab#page/n103/mode/2up}}</ref> However, many of these are not well-marked and the status of some of them is disputed.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Hoogerwerf, A |year=1965 |title=Notes on the taxonomy of ''Copsychus saularis'' with special reference to the subspecies ''amoenus'' and ''javensis'' |journal=Ardea |volume=53 |pages=32–37 |url=http://ardeajournal.natuurinfo.nl/ardeapdf/a53-032-037.pdf}}</ref> Some, like ''mindanensis'', have now been usually recognized as full species (the Philippine magpie-robin).<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.kevinwinker.org/Sheldon%20et%20al%20Copsychus%20J%20Biogeogr%202009.pdf |journal=Journal of Biogeography |year=2009 |title=Phylogeography of the magpie-robin species complex (Aves: Turdidae: Copsychus) reveals a Philippine species, an interesting isolating barrier and unusual dispersal patterns in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia |vauthors=Sheldon FH, Lohman DH, Lim HC, Zou F, Goodman SM, Prawiradilaga DM, Winker K, Braile TM, Moyle RG |volume=36 |issue=6 |pages=1070–1083 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2699.2009.02087.x |s2cid=55529997}}</ref> There is more geographic variation in the plumage of females than in that of the males.<ref>{{cite book |pages=112–116 |url=https://archive.org/stream/BakerFbiBirds2/bakerFBI2#page/n137/mode/1up |title=The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds |volume=2 |edition=2nd |year=1924 |author=Baker, ECS |publisher=Taylor and Francis, London}}</ref>
It is mostly seen close to the ground, hopping along branches or foraging in leaf-litter on the ground with a cocked tail. Males sing loudly from the top of trees or other high perches during the breeding season.<ref name=ras/>
==Etymology== thumb|left|Illustration from John Ray's ''Synopsis methodicam avium & piscium'' (1713) The Indian name of ''dhyal'' or ''dhayal'' has led to many confusions. It was first used by Eleazar Albin ("dialbird") in 1737 (Suppl. N. H. Birds, i. p. 17, pls. xvii. xviii.), and Levaillant (Ois. d'Afr. iii. p. 50) thought it referred to a sun dial and he called it ''Cadran''. Thomas C. Jerdon wrote (B. India, ii. p. 116) that Linnaeus,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/carolilinnaeisys11linn#page/n232/mode/1up/ |title=Systema naturae |author=Linnaeus, Carolus |year=1760 |publisher=Halae Magdeburgicae : Typis et sumtibus Io. Iac. Curt.}}</ref> thinking it had some connection with a sun-dial, called it ''solaris'', by ''lapsus pennae'', ''saularis.'' This was, however, identified by Edward Blyth as an incorrect interpretation and that it was a Latinization of a Hindi word {{transliteration|hi|saulary}} [which could mean a "hundred songs" (''सौ+लोरी''{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}})]. A male bird was sent with this Hindi name from Madras by surgeon Edward Bulkley to James Petiver, who first described the species ([https://archive.org/stream/joannisraiisynop00rayj#page/n204/mode/1up Ray, Synops. Meth. Avium], p. 197).<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/partpdf/17464 |year=1867 |journal=Ibis |volume=3 |issue=9 |pages=1–48 |title=The Ornithology of India. - A commentary on Dr. Jerdon's 'Birds of India' |author=Blyth E. |doi=10.1111/j.1474-919x.1867.tb06417.x}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofbird00newt |title=A Dictionary of Birds |publisher=Adam & Charles Black, London |year=1893–1896 |author=Newton, Alfred |page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofbird00newt/page/133 133]}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== This magpie-robin is a resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and eastern Pakistan, eastern Indonesia, Thailand, south China, Malaysia, and Singapore.<ref name=ras/>
The Oriental magpie-robin is found in open woodland and cultivated areas often close to human habitations.
==Behaviour and ecology== [[File:Copsychus saularis MWNH 1856.JPG|left|thumb|upright|Egg, from the collection of Museum Wiesbaden]]
Magpie-robins breed mainly from March to July in India and January to June in south-east Asia. Males sing from high perches during courtship. The display of the male involves puffing up the feathers, raising the bill, fanning the tail and strutting.<ref name=hbk/> They nest in tree hollows or niches in walls or building, often adopting nest boxes. They line the cavity with grass. The female is involved in most of the nest building, which happens about a week before the eggs are laid. Four or five eggs are laid at intervals of 24 hours and these are oval and usually pale blue green with brownish speckles that match the color of hay. The eggs are incubated by the female alone for 8 to 14 days.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Pillai, NG |year=1956 |title=Incubation period and 'mortality rate' in a brood of the Magpie-Robin [''Copsychus saularis'' (Linn.)] |journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=182–183 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48182822}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |pages=80–85 |title=The nests and eggs of Indian birds |author=Hume, A.O. |edition=2nd |volume=2 |year=1890 |publisher=R H Porter, London |url=https://archive.org/stream/nestseggsofindia02humerich#page/80/mode/2up}}</ref> The nests are said to have a characteristic odour.{{Citation needed|date=December 2019|reason=removed citation to predatory publisher content}} thumb|Juvenile with scaly markings (Sri Lanka) Females spend more effort on feeding the young than males. Males are quite aggressive in the breeding season and will defend their territory.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Narayanan E. |year=1984 |title=Behavioural response of a male Magpie-Robin (''Copsychus saularis'' Sclater) to its own song |journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=81 |issue=1 |pages=199–200 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48874107}}</ref> They respond to the singing of intruders and even their reflections.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Cholmondeley, EC |year=1906 |title=Note on the Magpie Robin (''Copsychus saularis'') |journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=17 |issue=1 |page=247 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30119415}}</ref> Males spend more time on nest defense.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sethi |first1=Vinaya Kumar |last2=Bhatt |first2=Dinesh |year=2007 |title=Provisioning of young by the Oriental Magpie-robin |journal=The Wilson Journal of Ornithology |volume=119 |issue=3 |pages=356–360 |doi=10.1676/06-105.1 |s2cid=86268155}}</ref> Studies of the bird song show dialects<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Aniroot Dunmak |author2=Narit Sitasuwan |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |title=Song Dialect of Oriental Magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis) in Northern Thailand |url=https://thaiscience.info/Journals/Article/NHCU/10439775.pdf |journal=The Natural History Journal of Chulalongkorn University |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=145–153}}</ref> with neighbours varying in their songs. The calls of many other species may be imitated as part of their song.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Neelakantan, KK |year=1954 |title=The secondary song of birds. |journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=52 |issue=3 |pages=615–620 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48184508}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Law, SC |year=1922 |title=Is the Dhayal ''Copsychus saularis'' a mimic? |journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=28 |issue=4 |page=1133 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/52170795}}</ref> This may indicate that birds disperse and are not philopatric.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Bhattacharya, H. |author2=J. Cirillo |author3=B.R. Subba |author4=D. Todt |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |title=Song Performance Rules in the Oriental Magpie Robin (''Copsychus salauris'') |journal=Our Nature |volume=5 |pages=1–13 |url=http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/ON/article/viewFile/791/760 |format=PDF |doi=10.3126/on.v5i1.791 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Females may sing briefly in the presence of a male.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Kumar, Anil |author2=Bhatt, Dinesh |year=2002 |title=Characteristics and significance of song in female Oriental Magpie-Robin, ''Copysychus saularis''. |journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=99 |issue=1 |pages=54–58 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48603891}}</ref> Apart from their song, they use a range of calls including territorial calls, emergence and roosting calls, threat calls, submissive calls, begging calls and distress calls.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Kumar, A. |author2=Bhatt, D. |name-list-style=amp |year=2001 |title=Characteristics and significance of calls in Oriental magpie robin |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24105559 |journal=Curr. Sci. |volume=80 |pages=77–82}}</ref> The typical mobbing calls is a harsh hissing ''krshhh''.<ref name=hbk/><ref name=ras/><ref>{{cite journal |author=Bonnell, B |year=1934 |title=Notes on the habits of the Magpie Robin ''Copsychus saularis saularis'' Linn. |journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=729–730 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48733223}}</ref>
The diet of magpie-robins includes mainly insects and other invertebrates. Although mainly insectivorous, they are known to occasionally take flower nectar, geckos,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Sumithran, Stephen |year=1982 |title=Magpie-Robin feeding on geckos |journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=79 |issue=3 |page=671 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48745119}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author=Saxena, Rajiv |year=1998 |title=Geckos as food of Magpie Robin |journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=95 |issue=2 |page=347 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48604889}}</ref> leeches,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Karthikeyan, S |year=1992 |title=Magpie Robin preying on a leech |journal=Newsletter for Birdwatchers |volume=32 |issue=3&4 |page=10}}</ref> centipedes<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kalita, Simanta Kumar |year=2000 |title=Competition for food between a Garden Lizard ''Calotes versicolor'' (Daudin) and a Magpie Robin ''Copsychus saularis'' Linn. |journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=97 |issue=3 |page=431}}</ref> and even fish.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Sharma, Satish Kumar |year=1996 |title=Attempts of female Magpie Robin to catch a fish |journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=93 |issue=3 |page=586 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48603860}}</ref>
They are often active late at dusk.<ref name=ras/> They sometimes bathe in rainwater collected on the leaves of a tree.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Donahue, Julian P |year=1962 |title=The unusual bath of a Lorikeet [''Loriculus vernalis'' (Sparrman)] and a Magpie-Robin [''Copsychus saularis'' (Linn.)] |journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=59 |issue=2 |page=654 |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47855357}}</ref>
==Status== This species is considered one of "least concern" globally, but in some areas it is declining.
In Singapore they were common in the 1920s, but declined in the 1970s, presumably due to competition from introduced common mynas.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Huong SL, Sodhi NS |year=1997 |title=Status of the Oriental Magpie Robin ''Copsychus saularis'' in Singapore |journal=Malay Nat. J. |volume=50 |pages=347–354}}</ref> Poaching for the pet bird trade and habitat changes have also affected them and they are locally protected by law.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Yap, Charlotte A. M. |author2=Navjot S. Sodhi |name-list-style=amp |year=2004 |title=Southeast Asian invasive birds: ecology, impact and management |journal=Ornithological Science |volume=3 |pages=57–67 |doi=10.2326/osj.3.57 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
This species has few avian predators. Several pathogens and parasites have been reported. Avian malaria parasites have been isolated from the species,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ogaki, M. |year=1949 |title=Bird Malaria Parasites Found in Malay Peninsula. |journal=Am. J. Trop. Med. |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=459–462 |doi=10.4269/ajtmh.1949.s1-29.459 |pmid=18153046}}</ref> while H4N3<ref>{{cite book |author=Dennis J. Alexander |year=1992 |title=Avian Influenza in the Eastern Hemisphere 1986-1992. Avian Diseases 47. Special Issue. |publisher=Third International Symposium on Avian Influenza. 1992 Proceedings. |pages=7–19}}</ref> and H5N1 infection has been noted in a few cases.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/quarantine/qua_vetlab/qua_vetlab_ndr/qua_vetlab_ndr_adr/files/qer010306.pdf |title=Quarterly Epidemiology Report Jan-Mar 2006 |year=2006 |publisher=Hong Kong Government}}</ref> Parasitic nematodes of the eye have been described.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Sultana, Ameer |year=1961 |title=A Known and a New Filariid from Indian Birds |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-parasitology_1961-10_47_5/page/712 |journal=The Journal of Parasitology |volume=47 |issue=5 |pages=713–714 |doi=10.2307/3275453 |pmid=13918345 |jstor=3275453}}</ref>
==In culture== [[File:Doyel Chatwar 1.A.M.R.jpg|thumb|upright|Doel Chattar, Dhaka|right]]
Oriental magpie-robins were widely kept as cage birds for their singing abilities and for fighting in India in the past.<ref>{{cite book |author=Law, Satya Churn |year=1923 |title=Pet birds of Bengal |publisher=Thacker, Spink & Co |url=https://archive.org/details/petbirdsofbengal00laws}}</ref> They continue to be sold in the pet trade in parts of Southeast Asia.
Aside from being recognized as the national bird of the country, in Bangladesh, the oriental magpie-robin is common and known as the ''doyel'' or ''doel'' (দোয়েল).<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-106149 |title=Doel is the mascot |date=2009-09-16 |work=The Daily Star |access-date=2017-12-18 |language=en}}</ref> Professor Kazi Zakir Hossain of Dhaka University proposed to consider the magpie robin as the national bird of Bangladesh. The reasoning behind this is the magpie robin can be seen everywhere in towns and villages across the country. In that context, the magpie robin was declared as the national bird of Bangladesh.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Introduction to Oriental Magpie Robin |url=https://www.pettract.com/2020/11/oriental-magpie-robin-details.html |access-date=2020-12-18 |website=pettract.com}}</ref> It is a widely used symbol in Bangladesh, appearing on a currency note, and a landmark in the city of Dhaka is named as the ''Doel Chattar'' (meaning: Doel Square).<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/city/national-birds-1258027 |title=National Birds |date=2016-07-23 |work=The Daily Star |access-date=2017-12-18 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/city/fountainous-reopening-doyel-chattar-1220323 |title=Fountainous reopening of Doyel Chattar |date=2016-05-08 |work=The Daily Star |access-date=2017-12-18 |language=en}}</ref>
In Sri Lanka, this bird is called ''Polkichcha''.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Vernacular Names of the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent |journal=Buceros |author=Anonymous |year=1998 |volume=3 |issue=1 |url=http://www.bnhsenvis.nic.in/pdf/vol%203%20(1).pdf |pages=53–109 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401015111/http://www.bnhsenvis.nic.in/pdf/vol%203%20%281%29.pdf |archive-date=2010-04-01}}</ref>
In southern Thailand, this bird is known locally as ''Binlha'' ({{langx|th|บินหลา}} — with another related bird, the white-rumped shama). They are frequently mentioned in contemporary songs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pantip.com/topic/31882671 |title=ทำไมนกบินหลา ถึงพูดถึงในเพลงปักษ์ใต้มีความสำคัญต่อชีวิตชาวใต้อย่างไรครับ |trans-title=Why is the oriental magpie-robin mentioned in the southern song and how is it important to the life of the southern people? |language=thai |work=Pantip.com |date=2014-04-06 |access-date=2022-08-10}}</ref> {{Wikisource|Pet Birds of Bengal/The Dhayal (Magpie-Robin)|The Dhayal (Magpie-Robin)|nocat=yes}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
===Other sources=== * Mehrotra, P. N. 1982. Morphophysiology of the cloacal protuberance in the male Copsychus saularis (L.) (Aves, Passeriformes). Science and Culture 48:244–246.
==External links== {{Commons and category|Copsychus saularis|Copsychus saularis}} * [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/oriental-magpie-robin-copsychus-saularis Oriental Magpie Robin videos, photos & sounds] on the Internet Bird Collection * [http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Magpie-robin Magpie-robin] in Banglapedia * [https://www.pettract.com/2020/11/oriental-magpie-robin-details.html Introduction to Oriental Magpie Robin]
{{Symbols of Bangladesh}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q266761}}
oriental magpie-robin Category:Birds of China Category:Birds of Indomalaya oriental magpie-robin oriental magpie-robin