Black-headed Cuckooshrike - BirdForum Opus

Female
Photo by Rakesh
Yeeor, Sanjay Gandhi National Park, India, December 2006

Lalage melanoptera

Coracina melanoptera

Identification

18cm
Male

• Black head, wings and tail
• Ash-grey body with whitish underparts
  

Female

• Grey head
• Black and white underparts

Distribution

South and south-east Asia.

Taxonomy

Formerly placed in the genus Coracina.

Subspecies^[1]

There are 2 subspecies:

• L. m. melanoptera:

• Northern India (northern Punjab and United Provinces); winters to Myanmar

• L. m. sykesi:

• Southern India and Sri Lanka

Habitat

Male
Photo by James Williams
Hampi, Karnataka, Southern India, February 2005

Woodlands and mangroves.

Behaviour

It is usually seen in pairs.

Diet

The diet includes insects and berries such as lantana.

Breeding

Breeding season is March to August. The nest is a shallow cup on the top surface of a branch. Twigs and rootlets are bound together with cobwebs.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Prakriti
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Black-headed Cuckooshrike. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 February 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-headed_Cuckooshrike

External Links

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