The Vietnamese cutia (''Cutia legalleni'') 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 lightweigh ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Leiothrichidae The laughingthrushes are a family, Leiothrichidae, of Old World passerine birds. They are diverse in size and coloration. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The entire fami ...

. It is found in

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. It was long considered a subspecies of the

Himalayan cutia The Himalayan cutia (''Cutia nipalensis'') is a bird species in the family (biology), family Leiothrichidae. Its scientific name ultimately means "the ''khutya'' from Nepal", as ''Cutia'' is derived from the Nepali (language), Nepali name for the ...

(''C. nipalensis''), making the genus ''

Cutia :''The agoutis of the genus '' Dasyprocta'' are locally known as "cutias". See also Hutia, where the name for these rodents originated.'' The cutias are the passerine bird genus ''Cutia'' in the family Leiothrichidae. These birds are found in mon ...

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 ...

. In recent times, it is more often elevated to full species status. 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 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 f ...

s. The Vietnamese Cutia is not considered threatened by the

IUCN 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 ...

, but as its range is far more restricted than that of its western relative, it is classified as a

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

species after the split.BLI (2008a,b)

Footnotes

References

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

(BLI) (2008a
Vietnamese Cutia Species Factsheet
Retrieved 2008-MAY-27. *

(BLI) (2008b)
[2008 IUCN Redlist status changes]
Retrieved 2008-MAY-23. * Collar, N.J. & Robson, Craig (2007): Family Timaliidae (Babblers). ''In:'' del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew & Christie, D.A. (eds.): ''Handbook of Birds of the World, Volume 12'' (Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees): 70-291. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. {{Taxonbar, from=Q952984 Cutia, Vietnamese cutia Birds of Vietnam Birds described in 1919, Vietnamese cutia