Taiwan Vivid Niltava
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The Taiwan vivid niltava (''Niltava vivida'') or small vivid niltava is a
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
in the 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 Northe ...
. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1864. It 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 else ...
to
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. The Chinese vivid niltava (''N. oatesi'') of the Asian mainland, which is larger in size, was formerly considered
conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organis ...
. Its natural
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
is subtropical or tropical moist
montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...
s. The Taiwan vivid niltava is a medium-sized (16 cm) member of the Old World flycatcher family, has a deep purplish blue on the head, back, tail and lesser wing coverts, and bright rufous orange below. Its throat, face, wings and iris are black as are its legs and bill. The female is olive brown overall, lighter below, with a light buffy throat and greyish-brown crown and nape. As do many members of its family, the small vivid niltava bears distinct rictal bristles at the base of its bill.


References

Taiwan vivid niltava Taiwan vivid niltava Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Muscicapidae-stub Endemic birds of Taiwan