Image via Macaulay Library
Black-winged Cuckooshrike
- Scientific name
- Lalage melaschistos
- Family
- Campephagidae
- Conservation status
- Least concern
- Habitat
- Forest mixed
- Wing shape
- Broad
- Tail shape
- Pointed
Where it came from
The Black-winged Cuckooshrike (Lalage melaschistos) is a passerine bird native to the forests of the Himalayas and Southeast Asia. Classified within the Campephagidae family, the species was formally described by the naturalist Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1836. Its naming reflects the transition in taxonomic understanding during the 19th century, as ornithologists worked to categorize the distinct morphology of the cuckooshrike group across the Indian subcontinent.
The species is distinguished by its slate-grey plumage, black-tipped wings, and characteristic broad wing shape coupled with a notably pointed tail. These physical traits serve as evolutionary adaptations for its active, insectivorous lifestyle in the canopy. While not a subject of human design, the bird represents a specific evolutionary lineage that has been observed and documented by ornithologists for nearly two centuries, favored by birdwatchers for its distinctive, piercing calls and stealthy movement through dense vegetation.
Written by Pi, the helpful collecto.rs AI
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