The Montane Blue-winged Leafbird of Borneo (Bornean Leafbird)

UPDATED on 30th March 2018

This species is now Bornean Leafbird Chloropsis kinabaluensis.

Please see Birds of Maliau Basin for record of Blue-winged Leafbird Chloropsis cochinchinensis in Sabah.

Original version 29 June 2009

This montane form of Blue-winged Leafbird was previously classified under Chloropsis cochinchinsis flavocincta . This form differs from the lowland forms in that the female has black throat, just like the male. This is abundant montane resident along the spinal chain from G. Kinabalu to Usun Apau plateau and G. Dulit, G. Tudal in Brunei and to Kayan Mentarang in East Kalimantan.

Male Montane Blue-winged Leafbird (Chloropsis kinabaluensis)

This is the only form of Blue-winged Leafbird recorded in Sabah. The other lowland forms occuring in Borneo are not recorded in Sabah.

This form is classified as Resident Breeding Endemic, Common name as Montane Blue-winged Leafbird, scientific name as Chloropsis kinabaluensis (Mann, C.F 2008).

Taxonomic note: Seperation of C. (c) kinabaluensis from C. cochinchinensis follows Mees (1986) and Wells et al (2003). The two species would appear to overlap in altitude on Usun Apau Plateau, Sarawak. Use of Kinabaluensis in place of flavocincta follows Sharpe (1889), and is fully explained in Wells et al (2003).

Happy Birding.

REFERENCE

Mann, C.F. (2008) The birds of Borneo, an annotated Checklist. Peterbourough, UK: British Ornithologists' Union.