The black capuchin ( scientific name : Dicrurus macrocercus ) is a bird of the family Passeriformes capuchinidae. The total length is about 30cm. It is black throughout , with glowing blue upperparts , thorax and tail feathers. The tail is deeply concave in length, and the outermost pair of tail feathers curl outwards upwards. It inhabits open areas, has very strong territorial behavior during the breeding period, is fierce, and likes to fight in groups during the non-breeding period. It mainly feeds on insects. It usually inhabits the foothills of mountains or on the top of trees along streams, and often falls on power lines in open areas. Large numbers, often in pairs or integrated small groups, agile movements, flying and shouting. It mainly feeds on flying insects from the air, mainly feeding on pests such as nocturnal moths, bugs, ants, caddisflies, and locusts. It ranges from Iran to India, China, Southeast Asia, Java and Bali.
Appearance characteristics
Male adult black capuchin (breeding feathers): the whole body feathers are shiny black, and the forehead and eye feathers are black (there is a white spot at the corner of the mouth of individual specimens, but it is not very obvious). The upper body from the head, back to the waist and upper tail coverts, dark black, embellished with patina metallic flashes; the tail feathers are dark black, and the surface of the feathers is stained with a copper-green luster; the central pair of tail feathers is the shortest, and the outwards are sequentially grown, the outermost pair is the longest, and its ends are curled outwards and upwards, and the tail feathers are deeply forked; the wings are dark brown, and the outer wings and the upper wing cover feathers have a patina metallic luster. The underparts are dark brown from chin, throat to subtail coverts, with only the patina metallic luster on the thorax; the underwing coverts and axillary feathers are black brown.
Female adult: the body color resembles a male, and only its plumage is slightly less shiny with copper-green metal.
Juvenile: the body feathers are black brown, the back and shoulder feathers are slightly metallic, the coverts from the upper waist to the tail are black brown, the latter has a dirty gray-white feather, which is scaly; the tail feathers are black brown; the wing horns are grayish white. The lower abdomen, flank and subtail coverts are black-brown, with dirty gray-white feathers, and the base of the subtail coverts of individual specimens is black-brown, with gray-white feathers up to 11 mm long, and the appearance is stained gray-white.
Chicks: The nest chicks are covered with dark brown-black fluffy feathers.
Iris brownish red: the mouth and feet are dark black; the claws are dark black.
Habitat
Black capuchin perches near villages on the outskirts of the city and in large rural areas, and especially likes to nest and breed on tall tsubaki trees in front of and behind villagers' houses. Most of them are found in pairs on broad-leaved forest trees on hillsides and plains below 800 m, while in Tibet, China, they inhabit mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest margins at altitudes of 2000-2500 m.
Habits of life
Black capuchin usually inhabits the foothills or on the top of trees along the creek, or on the poles between erect fields, and when it sees insects below, it often falls from the perch branches straight to the ground or near it to catch and feed, and then returns to a high place to fly straight, forming a "U" shaped flight. It also often falls on the backs of livestock grazing on the pastures, pecking at insects that are startled by the livestock. Sexually fond of flocking, singing, biting, is a combative bird, the habit is fierce, especially during breeding, such as red-footed falcons, crows, magpies and other birds invade or near its nest, they will rise up to attack the intruder until they are driven out of the nest area.
The black capuchin chirp is noisy and rough, like a continuous chiben-chaben, which echoes each other, especially at dawn in the morning, so the villagers give it the nickname "Li Chicken".
Black capuchin can prey on flying insects in the air during flight, similar to the agile gliding and churning of the house swallow in the air, commonly known as "black fishtail swallow" in the south. The diet is mainly insects, such as dragonflies, locusts, dragonflies, wasps, goldenrods, scoops, cicadas, Amass moth larvae, bugs and insects such as membrane-winged, elytra and lepidopterans.
Distribution range
It is found in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Migratory birds: Guam, Northern Mariana Islands.
Traveling Bird: Iran (Islamic Republic of), Republic of Korea, Oman, United Arab Emirates.
China is southeastern to southwestern from Jilin to the southwest, Tibet is the Xiahou bird, and southern Yunnan, Hainan and Taiwan are resident birds.
Breeding methods
Breeding occurs between June and July. The nest is made of sorghum stalks, grass spikes, dry grass fine fibers, plant fibers, fine linen fibers, cotton fibers interwoven and reinforced, woven into a shallow cup shape, often placed on the top of elms, willows and other trees, and at the forks of the ends of the fine branches. In late June, young birds that have just emerged from the nest can be seen staying in trees near the nest waiting for their parents to feed. Both male and female broodstock participate in egg incubation and brooding. The black capuchin nest is bowl-shaped; the nest is about 70 mm high, the nest depth is 35 mm, the inner diameter is 90 mm, and the outer diameter is about 130 mm. Eggs lay 3-4 eggs, the egg shell is milky white, the upper cloth is covered with fine brown spots, and the blunt end has reddish-brown coarse spots. The egg diameter is about 24 mm × 19 mm. It is borne by the male and female parent birds in turn, and the incubation period is 16±1 day. The chicks are late-growing and when they first hatch, the chicks are completely naked, with only a few feathers on their backs and heads. Male and female broods co-brood and stay in the nest for 20-24 days.