Black-headed Cuckooshrike (Lalage melanoptera) first record in Bhutan

 

On 17^th May 2021, I sighted Black-headed Cuckooshrike in Nyoenpaling (Pugli-B), Samtse. I heard the call for the first time when I was working in my backyard kitchen garden. A few moments later, it showed up on a leafy Teak tree Tectona grandis. The gloomy weather affected my vision, and I thought the bird was Sultan Tit Melanochlora sultanea. The invasive birds around, the Red-vented Bulbul and a few Drongo species were territorial and restricted its entry into their area.

The next day, I saw it again perching on a canopy tree near my kitchen garden. I could photograph its underparts and also recorded its call. I reviewed the photograph, but it appeared to be Large Woodshrike Tephrodornis virgatus and not Sultan Tit — as the gloomy weather falsified white belly as yellow the previous day. It   did not convince me owing to a poor photograph. I shared the call recording and the photograph in the Dragon Birding Amigos (DBA) Facebook Messenger group comprising of avid birding circles of Samtse. Since the photograph did not show prominent features of the bird, and call recording was    not clear and audible, members agreed to Large Woodshrike.

The call sounded new to me, so I kept my eyes on it. On 19^th May 2021 at 1400 hours (local time), I could take several photographs while it was perching on the same tree-Teak. Later, I shared the photographs in the DBA Facebook Messenger group for identification. The DBA members thoroughly crosschecked the visual identification-dark slate-grey head, neck and upper breast, pale grey mantle and buff-white underparts, wings are darker grey than mantle, all pointing towards a male Black-headed Cuckooshrike. It was not possible to determine the age, but the visual    identification features showed it was an adult species. Thus, the DBA members confirmed it as Black-headed Cuckooshrike Lalage melanoptera. I photographed it at PCAL Pugli colony, Nyoenpaling (Pugli B), Phuntshopelri, Samtse (26^°49’26.68” N 89^°13’33.55” E).

After discussion with the DBA group, I shared the same photo in the Birds of Bhutan (BoB) Facebook Messenger group. The members of BoB (Bhutan BirdLife Society) not only confirmed it as the correct ID but also a new species in the country. As per the eBird Observation Dataset (n.d.), the closest record of this bird, to Bhutan is a record from Darjeeling (27.1N, 88.7E) and Puruliya (23.3N, 86.0E) in West Bengal, India in 2015 and 2019, respectively. According to the Bird Life International (2017), this species has a stable population trend and evaluated as Least Concern under International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) status.

The Black-headed Cuckooshrike Lalage melanoptera (Rüppell, 1839) is a species of cuckooshrike found in south and south-east Asia (Wikipedia, 2021). It breeds in northern India (in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh) and Myanmar (avibase, n.d.). According to Barooah & Sarma (2016), it is found from Mount Abu through Sambar in Rajasthan to Kangra in Himachal Pradesh. It is a migratory bird in Assam. It is also found in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It habitats mostly in light deciduous forests and open broadleaved secondary growth forests in the plains and hills up to 2,000 masl (India Biodiversity Portal, n.d.).

The second record was also from the same place, Nyoenpaling B (Pugli) on early morning of April 6, 2022 at 6:15 am. It was with its loud and clear whistling song twe..twe..twee......tweeee....tweee...in the backyard garden. It then flew to the Khair tree and taller canopy of Teak tree near by. It usually takes a short flight from perching tree to other tree frequently without staying much in the same canopy. Its mostly seen flying tree to tree in search of its prey like insects and caterpillar in the tree leaves. They occasionally feeds on fruits and berries but not observed in its first record place at Noyenpaling (Pugli) for the same as it was observed only looking for insects or beetles in the leaves. 

The third record was also in the same month at the same location on April 23, 2022 at 3:27 pm with my friend Mr.Tashi Dorji, Sr.Forester, Tading Beat Office, Samtse. It was frequenting the same canopy of Khair trees top with its call in breaks of one or two hours. We assumed its nesting around but there was only a lone male count as in the first record. This year it visited quite early by a month plus than it first record last year. However, we cant rule out the exact month of its short migration to this place. Last year, it was for a week or two after its first record in the area. However, this time, it was around till last week of May, 2022 from its first visit of the season in first week of April, 2022. It could be still around, since it is a lone male count till date in the area and is observed only after its call. 

It is mostly seen perching in high canopy and make its call. During its call, it tend to perch longer time in same place and takes a short flight frequently. It is seen active in morning with its call and in afternoon. The posture in its call with upward throat and beak to the sky is unique when it goes for a longer call in the day time or afternoon. During the day, it was observed preening and taking rest with some call in between for almost half an hour in the same perch. The bird is seen chased away often by Drongo and Bulbul for being new in the area.