National Bird of Bangladesh( Doyal )
The oriental magpie-robin (Copsychus
saularis) is a small pas serine bird
that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but now considered an Old World
flycatcher. They are distinctive black and white birds with a long
tail that is held upright as they forage on the ground or perch conspicuously.
Occurring across most of the Bangladesh subcontinent
and parts of Southeast Asia,
they are common birds in urban gardens as well as forests. They are particularly
well known for their songs and were once popular as cagebirds. The oriental
magpie-robin is national bird for Bangladesh. People of Bangladesh recognize it
as "Doel".
 |
| National Bird of Bangladesh |
Female of the nominate race (India)
This species is 19 centimetres
(7.5 in) long, including the long tail that is usually held cocked
upright. It is similar in shape to the smaller European robin, but is longer-tailed. The male
has black upper-parts, head and throat apart from a white shoulder patch. The
underparts and the sides of the long tail are white. Females are greyish black above and greyish white. Young
birds have scaly brown upper-parts and head. It is the national bird of Bangladesh.
The nominate race
is found on the Indian subcontinent
and the females of this race are the palest. The females of the Andamans race andamanensis are
darker, heavier-billed and shorter-tailed. The Sri Lankan race ceylonensis
(formerly included the Peninsular Indian populations south of the Kaveri River) and southern nominate
individuals have the females nearly identical to the males in shade. The
eastern populations (Bhutan and Bangladesh) have more black on the tail and
were formerly named erimelas. The populations in Burma and
further south are named as race musicus.[4] A number of other races have been
named across the range including prosthopellus (Hong Kong), nesiotes,
zacnecus, nesiarchus, masculus, pagiensis, javensis,
problematicus, amoenus, adamsi, pluto, deuteronymus
and mindanensis.[5] However many of these are not
well marked and the status of some are disputed.[6] Some like mindanensis have
been now been recognized usually as full species (Philippine
magpie-robin).[7] There is more geographic
variation in the plumage of females than in that of the males.[8]
It is mostly seen close to the
ground, hopping along branches or foraging in leaf-litter on the ground with
cocked tail. Males sing loudly from the top of trees or other high perches
during the breeding season.[3]
Etymology
Illustration from John Ray's Synopsis
methodicam avium & piscium (1713)
The Indian name of dhyal or dhayal
has led to many confusions. It was first used by Eleazar Albin ("dialbird") in
1737 (Suppl. N. H. Birds, i. p. 17, pls. xvii. xviii.), and Levaillant
(Ois. d'Afr. iii. p. 50) thought it referred to a sun dial and he called
it Cadran. Thomas C. Jerdon
wrote (B. India, ii. p. 1l6) that Linnaeus,[9] thinking it had some connection
with a sun-dial, called it solaris, by lapsus pennae, saularis.
This was however identified by Edward Blyth as an incorrect interpretation
and that it was a Latinization of the Hindi word saulary. A male bird
was sent with this Hindi name from Madras by surgeon Edward Buckley to James Petiver, who first described the
species (Ray, Synops. Meth. Avium, p. 197).[10][11]
Distribution
and habitat
This magpie-robin is a resident breeder in
tropical southern Asia from Bangladesh, interior India,
Sri Lanka and eastern Pakistan east to Indonesia, Thailand, south China,
Malaysia, and Singapore.[3] They have been introduced to
Australia.[12]
The oriental magpie-robin is found
in open woodland and cultivated areas often close to human habitations.
Behaviour
and ecology
Juvenile in Sri Lanka
Magpie robins breed mainly from
March to July in India and January to June in south-east Asia. Males sing from
high perches during courtship. The display of the male involves puffing up the
feathers, raising the bill, fanning the tail and strutting.[2] They nest in tree hollows or
niches in walls or building, often adopting nest boxes. They line the cavity with
grass. The female is involved in most of the nest building that happens about a
week before the eggs are laid. Four or five eggs are laid in intervals of 24
hours and these are oval and usually pale blue green with brownish speckles
which match the color of hay. The eggs are incubated by the female alone for 8
to 14 days.[13][14] The nests are said to have a
characteristic odour.[15]
Females spend more effort on feeding
the young than males. Males are quite aggressive in the breeding season and
will defend their territory.[16] and respond to the singing of
intruders and even their reflections.[17] Males spend more time on nest
defense.[18] Studies of the bird song show
dialects[19] with neighbours varying in their
songs. The calls of many other species may be imitated as part of their song.This may indicate that birds
disperse and are not philopatric.[21] They appear to use elements of
the calls of other birds in their own songs. Females may sing briefly in the
presence of male.[23] Apart from their song, they use
a range of calls
including territorial calls, emergence and roosting calls, threat calls,
submissive calls, begging calls and distress calls.[24] The typical mobbing calls is a
harsh hissing krshhh.[2][3][25]
The diet of magpie robins includes
mainly insects and other invertebrates. Although mainly insectivorous, they are
known to occasionally take flower nectar, geckos,[26][27] leeches,[28] centipedes[29] and even fish.[30]
They are often active late at dusk.[3] They sometimes bathe in rainwater
collected on the leaves of a tree.[31]
Status
This species is considered as one of
"little concern" globally but in some areas the species is on the
decline.
In Singapore and Hong Kong (Malay names Murai Kampung/cacing)
they were common in the 1920s, but declined in the 1970s, presumably due to
competition from introduced common mynas,[32] Poaching for the pet bird trade
and habitat changes have also affected them and they are locally protected by
law.[33]
This species has few avian
predators. Several pathogens and parasites have been reported. Avian malaria
parasites have been isolated from the species[34] while H4N3[35] and H5N1
infection has been noted in a few cases.[36] Parasitic nematodes of the eye
have been described[37]
In
culture
Doyel Chatwar, Dhaka
Magpie robins were widely kept as
cagebirds for their singing abilities and for fighting in India in the past.[38] They continue to be in the pet
trade in parts of Southeast Asia.
The magpie robin is the National Bird of Bangladesh, where it is common and known as
the Doyel or Doel (Bengali: দোয়েল).
It is a widely used symbol in Bangladesh,
appearing on currency notes, and a landmark in the city of Dhaka
is named as the Doyel Chatwar (meaning: Doyel Square).
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