Photo © by the late Dr Manjeet Singh
FRIM, Malaysia, March 2011
- Irena puella
Includes: Palawan Fairy-bluebird
Identification
Size 21.2–25.8 cm (8½-10¼ in). Iris is red in both sexes.
Male: shining blue crown, mantle, rump and undertail coverts contrasting with velvety black head, throat, belly and tail diagnostic.
Female: blue-green plumage with blackish primaries.
Distribution
India & Myanmar through south east Asia to the Greater Sundas and the Philippines.
Taxonomy
Subspecies tweeddalei may be split as "Palawan Fairy-bluebird" leaving remaining subspecies (andamanica, crinigera, malayensis, puella, turcosa) as "Asian Fairy-bluebird" (strict sense).
Subspecies
Taxa we include here which Clements recognises [1]:
- I. p. puella: India to Myanmar, Thailand and Indochina
- I. p. andamanica: Andaman Islands
- I. p. malayensis: Malaysia
- I. p. crinigera: Sumatra, Borneo and adjacent islands
- I. p. turcosa: Java
- I. p. tweeddalei: "Palawan Fairy-bluebird" Philippines (Palawan, Busuanga, Balabac, Culion and Calamian)
Habitat
Forest and forest edges.
Behaviour
Diet
Frequents the canopy and middle story. They often congregate in fruiting trees and shrubs with other frugivores. Their diet consists mostly of fruit ranging from small berries to figs, and in some areas they like nectar. Sometimes hawks after flying insects at the forest edges.
Vocalisation
Recording by Andrew Whitehouse
Bukit Timah, Singapore June 2009
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2017)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Asian Fairy-bluebird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Asian_Fairy-bluebird
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
