Rück's blue flycatcher (''Cyornis ruckii'') is a
passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...
bird in the Old World flycatcher family
Muscicapidae
The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, Bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica)'' and Norther ...
. It is known from only four specimens and is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to a small area in northeast
Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
, Indonesia, inhabiting
primary lowland forest. Although all specimens share common characteristics, such as a black
bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
, brown
iris
Iris most often refers to:
*Iris (anatomy), part of the eye
*Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess
* ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants
*Iris (color), an ambiguous color term
Iris or IRIS may also refer to:
Arts and media
Fictional enti ...
, and black feet, two of the collected specimens show some physical discrepancy with the other two. They were initially described as ''Cyornis vanheysti'' before being accepted as specimens of ''C. ruckii''. Rück's blue flycatcher has also been compared to other species of ''
Cyornis
''Cyornis'' is a genus of birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae most of which are native to Southeast Asia.
Species
The genus contains the following species:
* Hainan blue flycatcher (''Cyornis hainanus'')
* Pale blue flycatcher ...
''.
The species is listed as "
Critically Endangered" by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
as it has not been recorded since 1918. It has been protected by Indonesian law since 1972. It also might have been affected by the
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
.
Taxonomy
Rück's blue flycatcher was first described by the French
zoologist
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
Émile Oustalet
Jean-Frédéric Émile Oustalet (24 August 1844 – 23 October 1905 Saint-Cast) was a French zoologist.Hellmayr CE (1906). "Emile Oustalet bituary. ''Ornithologische Monatsberichte'' 14 (4): 57-59Scan
Oustalet was born at Montbéliard, in the de ...
in 1881, who studied two specimens (adult male and female) in the
French National Museum of Natural History
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
. The specimens were sent by Monsieur Rück from a trading port in modern-day
Malacca
Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...
, Malaysia, in 1880. Oustalet named the species after Rück and gave it the
binomial name
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''Cyornis ruckii''. The binomial is sometimes emended to the ''Cyornis rueckii'', but this is regarded as an incorrect spelling.
Other
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
s for the species include Rueck's blue flycatcher and Rueck's niltava.
A further two specimens (adult male and immature male) were collected by A. van Heyst in 1917 and 1918 near
Medan
Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four main ...
, where they were subsequently described as a new species (''Cyornis vanheysti'') by the British zoologists
Herbert Robinson and
Cecil Kloss in 1919. They also noted their similarity to the specimens described by Oustalet, eventually synonymizing ''C. vanheysti'' with ''C. ruckii''. The specimens reside in the
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...
.
The specimens have also been considered as being an aberrant form of the
pale blue flycatcher
The pale blue flycatcher (''Cyornis unicolor'') is a bird in the family Muscicapidae. The species was first described by Edward Blyth in 1843.
It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malay ...
(''Cyornis unicolor''). However, comparisons show that the pale blue flycatcher is different in both color and .
Rück's blue flycatcher is
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
.
Description
Rück's blue flycatcher is in length, with a black
bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
, brown
iris
Iris most often refers to:
*Iris (anatomy), part of the eye
*Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess
* ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants
*Iris (color), an ambiguous color term
Iris or IRIS may also refer to:
Arts and media
Fictional enti ...
and black feet. Differences between the specimens described by Oustalet and Robinson & Kloss exist. In the Oustalet specimens, the male has dark blue plumage, a blue belly, and a shining blue rump. There is also a small amount of grey coloring on disrupted feathers around the legs. The female has rufous-brown plumage, strong rufous
lores, orange-rufous breast and a whitish belly. In the Robinson & Kloss specimens, the immature male has brown-spotted buff plumage with a rufous breast and a whitish center on underparts. The adult male shows some discrepancy with the adult male specimen described by Oustalet; the belly and tail coverts are whitish grey, while the flanks are bluish grey. Additionally, the Robinson & Kloss specimens have slightly larger bills. These differences could be caused by
individual variation
In biology, polymorphism is the occurrence of two or more clearly different morphs or forms, also referred to as alternative ''phenotypes'', in the population of a species. To be classified as such, morphs must occupy the same habitat at the s ...
or due to the specimens being of different
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
.
Distribution and habitat
Rück's blue flycatcher is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
, Indonesia, around
Medan
Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four main ...
, and presumably has a low population density. The specimens collected by Rück were from
primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
* ...
lowland forest, while the ones collected by van Heyst are thought to be from exploited forest,
which might show possible tolerance against habitat degradation,
although this is disputed.
Conservation
Last recorded in 1918, and due to ongoing habitat loss, poor surveying, and its small population and limited range, Rück's blue flycatcher is evaluated as "
Critically Endangered" on the
IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...
. It is listed in Appendix II of
CITES
CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...
and has been protected under Indonesian law since 1972.
In 2013 and 2014, observations in
Jambi
Jambi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central Sumatra and spans to the Barisan Mountains in the west. Its capital and largest city is Jambi. The province has a land area of 50,160.05 km2, and a sea area of 3, ...
, Sumatra, revealed a pair of unidentified flycatchers that resembled Rück's blue flycatcher, but the possibility of them being
white-tailed flycatcher
The white-tailed flycatcher (''Leucoptilon concretum'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Leucoptilon''. Prior to 2022, it was classified in the genus ''Cyornis'', but was reclassified ...
s (''Cyornis concretus'') could not be eliminated.
Rück's blue flycatcher might have been affected by the
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
, and is also predicted to be extinct with 80% confidence.
Notes
References
External links
BirdLife Species FactsheetRed Data Book
{{Taxonbar, from=Q605264
Rück's blue flycatcher
Rück's blue flycatcher (''Cyornis ruckii'') is a passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is known from only four specimens and is endemic to a small area in northeast Sumatra, Indonesia, inhabiting Old-growth forest, ...
Birds of Sumatra
Critically endangered fauna of Asia
Rück's blue flycatcher
Rück's blue flycatcher (''Cyornis ruckii'') is a passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is known from only four specimens and is endemic to a small area in northeast Sumatra, Indonesia, inhabiting Old-growth forest, ...