Chestnut-breasted Malkoha

Order - Cuculiformes
Family - Cuculidae (Cuckoos)

Chestnut-breasted Malkoha

Phaenicophaeus curvirostris

栗胸地鹃 (lì-xiōng dì-juān)

    Malay : Cenuk Dada Coklat

    Japanese : チャムネバンケンモドキ (cha-mune ban-ken modoki)

    Kanji 日語漢字 : 茶胸番鵑擬き

    Extent of Occurrence (resident/breeding) : 5,160,000km²
    Migratory Status : Not a Migrant
    Breeding Endemic : No

Taxonomy update for 2024

The highly range-restricted island endemic Mentawai Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus oeneicaudus) is split from Chestnut-breasted Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus curvirostris). Mantawai Malkoha differs in its green (vs. chestnut) belly, entirely green tail (vs. chestnut on the outer half) and generally darker plumage including its darker chestnut breast; the eye color difference shown here is due to sex (males in both species have pale blueish eyes, while females have orange or reddish eyes). The Mentawai archipelago west of Sumatra is increasingly known for endemic taxa.

    -  Chestnut-breasted Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus curvirostris)
       RANGE: southern Myanmar (Tenasserim), through the Thai-Malay Peninsula
                      including Singapore, and on Sumatra and Bangka, Java and Bali, Borneo,
                      and the Palawan group in the southwestern Philippines.
    -  Mentawai Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus oeneicaudus)
       RANGE: Mentawai Islands (off southwestern Sumatra).

    Size : 42–50 cm; male 145–160 g; female 163–165 g (curvirostris);

              male 188–190 g; female 167.6 g (singularis); 

              male 134–155 g; female mean 141.9 g (microrhinus);

              male 111.0–177.1 g; female 137.5–148.6 g (harringtoni)

    

    Subspecies (5) and Distribution

• Phaenicophaeus curvirostris singularis (Parrot, CPA 1907)
  – Occurs on the Thai-Malay Peninsula, including southernmost Tenasserim, Myanmar, on Pulau Siantan, as well as on Sumatra.
• Identification :
  – Cheeks and chin usually gray (but much variation), whilst the belly is black, and the red facial skin is bordered by fine black-and-white feathers.
• Phaenicophaeus curvirostris curvirostris (Shaw, G 1810)
  – Occurs in west and central Java.
• Phaenicophaeus curvirostris deningeri (Stresemann, EFT 1913)
  – Occurs in east Java and on Bali.
• Identification :
  – Generally paler than other subspecies, with a paler rufous throat and a pale gray face.
• Phaenicophaeus curvirostris microrhinus (Berlepsch, HHCL 1895)
  – Widespread throughout Borneo, along with the Natuna Islands and Bangka.
  
• Identification :
  – Some individuals have the head dark gray with a pale rufous chin, whereas others are entirely pale grayish. The underparts are always dark red-brown, and the tail is shorter and less rounded than other subspecies. The bill is green with an almost all-red mandible. The nostrils are wider than they are deep (unlike other subspecies).
• Phaenicophaeus curvirostris harringtoni (Sharpe, RB 1877)
  – Occurs in the southwest Philippines, in the Palawan group; specifically, it has been recorded on Balabac, Busuanga, Calauit, Culion, Dumaran, and Palawan itself.
• Identification :
  – The head is tinged olive-brown and has a broad gray stripe below the red facial skin. The underparts are typically paler than those of the nominate taxon and the chestnut central rectrices vary considerably in length. This subspecies exhibits no sexual dimorphism.

Distribution Map

Phaenicophaeus curvirostris ssp. singularis

Date : 20 May 2019

Location : Taman Negara Pahang (Sungai Relau), Merapoh, Daerah Lipis, Pahang

Phaenicophaeus curvirostris ssp. microrhinus

Date : 24 February 2018

Location : Sepilok Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC), Sandakan, Sabah