McGregor's cuckooshrike (''Malindangia mcgregori'') or the sharp-tailed cuckooshrike, is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family Campephagidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

island on the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, 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 manifestation of its ...

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 lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

. It is declining due to

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

Description and taxonomy

EBird eBird is an online database of bird observations providing scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. Originally restricted to sightings from the Western Hemisphere, the project e ...

describes the bird as "A medium-sized bird of lower- and mid-elevation montane mossy forest on Mindanao, where it often joins mixed-species flocks. Gray on the crown, back, rump, and upper tail; black on the forehead, face, and chest plus some wing and tail feathers; and white on the belly and shoulder, plus a long mark down the wing and outer tail feathers. Black parts are slightly duller in the female. Unmistakable. Voice includes whining squeals and harsh screeches." This species was formerly placed in the genus ''

Coracina ''Coracina'' is a large genus of birds in the cuckooshrike family Campephagidae. The genus was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816. The type species was subsequently designated as the white-bellied cuckooshrik ...

''. A

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study published in 2010 found the genus ''Coracina'' was non-

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

. In the resulting reorganization to create monophyletic genera, McGregor's cuckooshrike is the only species placed in the resurrected genus ''Malindangia''. Diet is unknown but presumed to feed on insects. Forages in groups in the cannopy typically in pairs or in mixed species flocks.

Ecology and behavior

Its diet has not yet been recorded but it is presumed to feed on insects. Occurs singly, in small groups or with mixed-species flocks of other medium sized birds. It is often inconspicuous and quiet. Typically forages in the canopy. Specimens collected of birds in breeding condition with enlarged gonads from April to June but recently fledged birds have also been seen in March. No other information is known about its mating, nesting and fledgeling habits.

Habitat and conservation status

The species inhabits tropical montane forest above above sea level. The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has classified the species as

least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

but was formerly listed as

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...

. Despite its limited range, it is said to be locally common. As it occurs in rugged and inaccessible mountains, this has allowed a large portion of its habitat to remain intact. However, there it is still affected by

through deforestation, mining,

land conversion Land development is the alteration of landscape in any number of ways, such as: * Changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing * Subdividing real estate into lots, typically for the purpo ...

and

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody p ...

- just not to the same extent as lowland forest. Due to these continuing threats, population is still decreasing.

References

McGregor's cuckooshrike McGregor's cuckooshrike (''Malindangia mcgregori'') or the sharp-tailed cuckooshrike, is a species of bird in the family Campephagidae. It is Endemism, endemic to Mindanao island on the Philippines. Its natural habitat is tropical moist montane ...

Birds of Mindanao

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Campephagidae-stub Endemic birds of the Philippines