White-winged cuckooshrike facts for kids
Quick facts for kids White-winged cuckooshrike |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Campephagidae |
| Genus: | Edolisoma |
| Species: |
E. ostentum
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| Binomial name | |
| Edolisoma ostentum (Ripley, 1952)
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| Synonyms | |
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Coracina ostenta |
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The White-winged Cuckooshrike (Edolisoma ostentum) is a special kind of bird. It's also called the White-winged Cicadabird or White-winged Graybird. This bird belongs to a family called Campephagidae.
This bird lives only in the Philippines. You can find it on the islands of Negros and Panay. Sadly, it used to live on Guimaras island, but it's not there anymore. Some scientists think this bird should be in a different group called Analisoma.
The White-winged Cuckooshrike lives in tropical moist lowland forests. But its home is shrinking, which is a big problem for these birds.
Contents
What Does the White-winged Cuckooshrike Look Like?
This bird is a medium size. It has a fairly long tail. It lives in forests and forest edges, from lowlands up to the middle parts of mountains on Panay and Negros.
- Its head, back, and rump are gray.
- Its wings are black, but they have a large white patch.
- Its tail is black with white tips.
- It has white feathers under the base of its tail.
Male and female birds look a bit different. The male has a black forehead, face, and chest. The female has pale gray (light gray) feathers on her underside.
This bird looks a little like the Bar-bellied cuckooshrike. But the White-winged Cuckooshrike is smaller. It also doesn't have stripes on its belly, and it has white on its wings. Its voice is a harsh, loud sound that goes up and down, repeated often. These birds sometimes fly together in groups of 8 to 10.
Where Does the White-winged Cuckooshrike Live and How Is It Doing?
The White-winged Cuckooshrike lives in habitats like tropical moist lowland primary (old-growth) forests and secondary forests. These are forests that have grown back after being cut down. They can live up to 1,300 meters (about 4,265 feet) above sea level. While they can live in secondary forests, they are healthiest and have more babies in old-growth forests.
The IUCN Red List is a group that checks on animals around the world. They say this bird is a vulnerable species. This means it's at risk of disappearing. There are only about 6,000 to 15,000 adult birds left.
Why Is This Bird in Danger?
The biggest danger to the White-winged Cuckooshrike is habitat destruction. This means its forest home is being destroyed. Here's how:
- Logging: Trees are cut down, both legally and illegally.
- Farming: Forests are cleared to make farms. This often happens using a method called Slash-and-burn, where trees are cut and burned.
- Charcoal Burning: Trees are cut down to make charcoal for fuel.
- Mining: Land is dug up to find minerals, which destroys the forest.
This bird likes to live in lower areas of the forest. But most of the lowland forests in the Philippines have already been lost. By 2007, only 3% of the forests on Negros island and 6% on Panay island were left. Most of these remaining forests are in higher places where this bird doesn't live as well. These numbers are still going down.
What Is Being Done to Help?
Some areas where these birds live are protected. These include Northern Negros Natural Park, Mount Kanlaon National Park, and Northwest Panay Peninsula Natural Park. However, in many parts of the Philippines, rules against hunting and illegal logging are not always followed strictly.
To help these birds, people have suggested a few things:
- Do more surveys, especially on Panay, to find out where more of these birds live.
- Officially protect more important areas, like the Central Panay Mountain Range.
- Make sure the protected areas, like the Northern Negros Natural Park, are better guarded.
- Plant native trees carefully around the remaining forests to help them grow back.
 | Anna J. Cooper |
 | Mary McLeod Bethune |
 | Lillie Mae Bradford |
