Blue-winged Leafbird

Order - Passeriformes
Family - Chloropseidae (Leafbirds)

Blue-winged Leafbird

Chloropsis moluccensis

蓝翅叶鹎 (lán-chì yè-bēi)

    Malay : Burung-Daun Biasa

    Japanese : アオバネコノハドリ (ao-bane ko-no-ha dori)

    Kanji 日語漢字 : 青羽木の葉鳥

    Extent of Occurrence (resident/breeding) : 6,490,000km²
    Migratory Status : Not a Migrant
    Breeding Endemic : No

Taxonomy update for 2023

Javan Leafbird (Chloropsis cochinchinensis) and Blue-winged Leafbird (Chloropsis moluccensis) are split from Blue-winged Leafbird (Chloropsis cochinchinensis). The differences are subtle (less blue on wings and less yellow on head of Javan) but supported by genetic evidence–and Java
often hosts endemic species.

    -  Blue-winged Leafbird (Chloropsis moluccensis)

       RANGE: Widespread in Southeast Asia.

    -  Javan Leafbird (Chloropsis cochinchinensis)

       RANGE: Java (now very rare)

    Size : 15.8-20 cm; Male 20–28·5 g; Female 19–25 g
              Females are smaller than males on average.

    

    Subspecies (6) and Distribution

• Chloropsis moluccensis chlorocephala (Walden, A 1871, Tounghoo = Taungoo, Myanmar)
  – Eastern Himalayan foothills from northeastern India and eastern Bangladesh, through Myanmar to western Thailand.
• Identification :
  – Green overall with extensive glossy, turquoise-blue in outer wing-feathers.
• Chloropsis moluccensis kinneari (Hall, BP; Deignan, HG 1956, Bao-Ha, Tonkin = Bảo Hà, Bảo Yên District, Vietnam)
  – Southern Yunnan, China, south through northern and eastern Thailand and northern Indochina.
• Identification :
  – Slightly darker green, with narrower and less contrasting yellow breast patch than chlorocephala.
• Chloropsis moluccensis auropectus (Wells, DR; Dickinson, EC; Dekker, RWRJ 2003, Tay-Ninh, S Vietnam, co-ordinates 10°41'N, 106°07'E (BMNH 1928.6.26.992))
  – Southeastern Thailand and southern Indochina.
• Identification :
  – Distinguished from other subspecies by the well-demarcated yellow breast-band, with center of mid-crown green immediately behind the yellow forecrown.
• Chloropsis moluccensis serithai (Deignan, HG 1946, Ban-Tha-Lo, southwest of Surat Thani, Peninsular Siam)
  – Confined to the Thai-Malay Peninsula south from Isthmus of Kra, including far southern Myanmar, south to Perlis, Malaysia.
• Identification :
  – Upperparts tinged coppery. Cap is green in males with yellow restricted to the forehead, conjoined supercilium, and the broad border of bib. The wing is less turquoise than in chlorocephala.
• Chloropsis moluccensis moluccensis (Gray, JE 1831, Molucca = Malacca, Malaysia)
  – Southern Thailand from around Pattani south through Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Sumatra, and Natuna Islands.
• Identification :
  – Characterized by the well-defined yellow hood with bronzy nape contrasting with viridian green rather than yellowish belly as in more northerly subspecies.
• Chloropsis moluccensis viridinucha (Sharpe, RB 1877, Bintulu and T agora, Sarawak)
  – Endemic to Borneo, except in the far north.
• Identification :
  – Differs from other insular populations in having green nape rather than brassy-yellow.

Distribution Map

Chloropsis moluccensis ssp. moluccensis
Date : 10 August 2019

Location : Taiping Headworks Water Treatment Plant, Taiping,
Daerah Larut, Matang & Selama, Perak

Chloropsis moluccensis ssp. moluccensis
Date : 25 May 2016

Location : Berjaya Hills, Mukim Bentong, Daerah Bentong, Pahang