Cambodian people are quite familiar with the oriental magpie robin (ល្វាចេក), a member of an Old World flycatcher. While there are so many species, recognizing this one is not difficult due to its distinctive appearance. In some cultures, they symbolize good luck as people consider them as a bird of joy. What to find out more? Check out more information below.
Appearance
Including the long tail, an oriental magpie robin is around 19 centimeters long which is not too big. Male oriental magpie robins have black upperparts, head, and throat along with white shoulder patches. As for the undersides and sides of the long tail, they are white in color. Females of this species are grayish-black above with grayish-white under.
Behavior
The interesting characteristic of the oriental magpie robins is their singing abilities. This is also the reason why they are very common as cage birds with those who like songbirds. Male oriental magpie robins usually sing loudly from the top of trees or other high perches during the breeding season. The song of an oriental magpie robin consists of a sweet little chirp that somehow sounds very soothing.
Besides the singing, they also produce a wide range of calls to communicate with other birds. Those include begging, distress, emergence, roosting, submissive, territorial, and threat calls. They even have mobbing calls which are harsh hissing of “krshhh”. In the wild, they spend most of their days foraging in trees and on the ground. An oriental magpie robin often has its long tail raised upright when hopping which is one of this bird’s traits.
Feeding & Habitats
When it comes to diet, things are not too different from other magpie robins out there. This species also feed on insects and other invertebrates as well as flower nectar. Some of the common meals that they also occasionally consume are centipedes, fish, geckos, and leeches. These birds usually catch insects midair and that prey to a perch to feed. When it comes to ground feeding, they hop on the ground to prey on insects like ants and more. Oriental magpie robins are active late at dusk so seeing them hunting is quite unlikely.
The range of the oriental magpie robin is across tropical southern Asia all the way to Southeast Asia. They like to live in open woodland along with cultivated areas that are usually close to human habitats. Apart from that, they also live in forest edges, gardens, mangroves, and scrubs.
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