White-rumped Shama

Overview

White-rumped Shama: Native to Southeast Asia. Glossy blue-black head, nape, back, upperbreast. Black wings, tail. Rump and outer tail feathers are white. Rufous belly, lowerbreast. Black bill, pink legs and feet. Long tail enables it to change directions quickly in the dense underbrush it prefers.

Range and Habitat

White-rumped Shama: Introduced to Kauai in 1931, Oahu in 1940 and Maui in the late 1900s in an effort to supplement the native fauna. They are commonly found in valley forests and on the ridges of the southern Ko'olaus. Indigenous to southeast Asia, India, and some Indonesian Islands.

INTERESTING FACTS

The White-rumped Shama is also called Shama Thrush or White-rumped Shama Thrush because it was formerly placed in the Thrush family, Turdidae.
One of the first recordings ever made of birdsong was of this species. Ludwig Koch of Germany recorded a captive bird in 1889 using an Edison wax cylinder.
They are very territorial, and males with longer tails may have larger territories.
A group of flycatchers has many collective nouns, including an "outfield", "swatting", "zapper", and "zipper" of flycatchers.