Large Niltava
Niltava grandis
Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Today is about an enchanting bird from the beautiful Dois of Chiang Mai - the Large Niltava - a species of bird in the Old World Flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found in Its natural habitat of subtropical or tropical montane forests of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam & Indonesia.
About 685 kilometers to the north of Bangkok lies the former seat of the ancient Lanna Kingdom & is considered one of the most scenic provinces in the country given its mountain ranges, valleys, flora and fauna. A land of misty mountains and colourful hill tribes, a playground for seasoned travellers, and a delight for adventurers. Despite its relatively small size and blissful calm, Chiang Mai truly has it all, a city that is still firmly Thai in its atmosphere and attitude. It is the second-largest changwat (province) of Thailand. Bordered by Chiang Rai to the northeast, Lampang and Lamphun to the south, Tak to the southwest, Mae Hong Son to the west and the Shan State of Myanmar to the north. Located in a verdant valley on the banks of the Ping River, Chiang Mai was founded in 1296 as the capital of the ancient Lanna Kingdom. Today it is a place where past and the present seamlessly merge with modern buildings standing side by side with venerable temples. Of all the places I have visited in Thailand, Chiang Mai with its forests and mountains and the historic city of Ayutthaya are by far my favourites.
Large Niltava (Male)
The word Chiang itself is from North Thai, or Lanna, meaning town or city and Mai means new making Chiang Mai the New City as it was founded later than Chiang Rai, the earlier capital of King Meng Rai. The districts in the province are called amphoe, and sub-districts are called tambon. Another twist is the use of Nakhon (or Nakorn or Nakhorn), derived from the Sanskrit word Nagara, also means city, though strictly speaking it refers to a capital city such as Nakorn Sri Ayutthaya (more on Ayutthaya later). Indeed to emphasise its former status you may sometimes see Chiang Mai referred to as Nakhon Ping. Other common names of geographical features include mae (river) and doi which is north Thai for mountain - for example Doi Inthanon and Mae Ping.
The four Dois I spent time on were Doi Inthanon, Doi Ang Khang, Doi Luang and Doi SanJu.
Doi Luang & Doi SanJu in close proximity to the Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park, it is the second highest mountain in Thailand and a part of the Dan Lao Mountain range, northwest of Chiang Mai, sharing the border with Myanmar. Doi SanJu, can be easily accessed from Fang town. The mountain forest and no traffic make it easy to view birds. The entire area is very quiet, secluded and home to rare species like Mrs. Humes Pheasant, Long–tailed Sibia, Himalayan Cutia, Black–throated Tit, Black–eared Shrike Babbler, Whiskered Yuhina, Crimson–breasted Woodpecker, Fire–tailed Sunbird to name a few.
We didn’t have the good fortune to see all the species on all the mountains, that would have been impossible, but we did rack up quite a number of species - about 95 of them. The gallery today is of the shy and enchanting Spot-breasted Parrotbill.
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For a print of the beautiful birds from the Dois click on the button below to read my process and order a limited edition canvas.
Large Niltava (Female)
Large Niltava
The Large Niltava was formally described in 1842 by the English zoologist Edward Blyth based on specimens collected in Darjeeling, India. He coined the binomial name Chaïtaris grandis. The Large Niltava is now placed with six other Niltavas in the genus Niltava that was introduced in 1837 by the English naturalist Brian Hodgson. It is a typical niltava - the male is bright blue while the female is a plain brown. The male is bright electric purplish-blue above and a very dark blue below. The female is dark brown with rusty tones in the wings and an iridescent blue patch on the neck as you can see above. Southeast Asian females have a pale powder-blue crown and nape. The lack of a bright white throat patch separates the female Large Niltava from the female Rufous-bellied and Fujian Niltavas. The Small Niltava is similar in plumage, but much smaller and less heavyset. The male White-tailed Robin can be surprisingly similar but is proportionally smaller-headed and larger-bodied and has a wider tail with two bright white patches on it. The Large Niltava inhabits dense submontane forests, where it can be difficult to spot in dense foliage and is often encountered making forays from a perch. The song is an ascending series of 3-4 short, highly musical whistled notes.
Four subspecies are recognised:
Niltava grandis grandis (Blyth, 1842) – Distributed in the east Himalayas to southwest China, central Myanmar and north, west Thailand
Niltava grandis griseiventris (La Touche, 1921) – Distributed in south China and north Indochina
Niltava grandis decorata (Robinson & Kloss, 1919) – Distributed in central south Vietnam
Niltava grandis decipiens (Salvadori, 1891) – Distributed in montane Malay Peninsula and Sumatra
The Large Niltava is about 20-22 cm long and weighs between 25-40 grams. It is a large forest flycatcher, the largest Asian flycatcher, corpulent & quite lazy, with dark blue plumage in the male and dark olive brown plumage on the female. The nominal males of the breed is almost entirely dark blue or blackish blue (it looks black in low light), with the bluest crown, the side spot of the neck, the lower wing covers and the tail plumage. It has mostly black flight feathers, narrowly ribbed with indigo blue, a black tail, with the outer sections of the outer rectires a purplish blue. A slightly raised face and band at the bottom of the forehead is black while the lower parts are mostly purplish blue. They have a dark brown iris, a black beak, brownish black to lead gray or purplish gray legs. The female has the crown and the dark olive brown upper parts, the crown is striated of bluish gray and may show a slight crest, rufo edges of the supra-alar covers, the flight feathers and tail and tail, ruff-brown forehead and lores and a finely striated brown face of pale beige with a small bright pale blue spot on one side of the neck. It has a suede throat (well delimited by the darker sides) with lower parts mostly off olive brown, streaks of paler color or suede, and intense suede on the flanks and the infracaudal covers. It is distinguished from the similar female of Rufous-bellied Niltava (Niltava sundara) by the streaks on the face and lower parts, duller brown lower parts (not whitish at the belly), beige throat (instead of a well-defined white lower throat); of the female Fujian Niltava (Niltava davidi) for its larger size, beige throat, darker lower parts, no white spot on the lower part of the throat; of the female by the blue spot on the neck and the reddish brown upper parts (not grayish), including the edges of the wing and tail. Juveniles have the head and upper parts of an intense rufo brown, mottled or stained with a paler rufo. The wings and tail are like those of adults, but with the tips of the medium and larger covers of a pale rufo, and the lower ones of an intense rufo brown (the brightest rufo on the chest), with fringes of a darker brown forming bars or scalloped. The breeds vary mainly in the extension of the blue on the crown, the neck and the side of the neck and in the intensity of the coloring of the upper part of the adult females: the griseiventris is like the nominal one, but has less blue in the upper part of the belly and more gray in the lower, blacker flying feathers with less blue edges, the immature has brown infracaudal covers; decorata has the biggest blue and darkest neck patch bigger and bluer than the nominal ones, and the crown to the nape of the bright intense blue neck, warmer brown upper parts; decipiens is similar to the previous one, but with a darker blue slate crown to the back of the neck. It has been reported that the decorata breed differs vocally from all other breeds, but shares characters of the plumage with the decipiens breed. Four subspecies are recognized.
Generally the Large Niltava prefers dense, mature and humid latifoliated forests of hills, submontanes and mountains. In the Malay peninsula, they are often in large tree-lined gardens in mountain stations. It reproduces between c. 1500 m and 2850 m in the Himalayas, at 1200-2050 m in the Malay peninsula, up to 2745 m in S. China and 900-2560 m in US Asia. At lower altitudes in the non-breeding season, they are normally seen between 900 m and 2000 m at the foot of the Himalayan (but 600-2710 m in Bhutan); locally up to 450 m in the US of Asia.
They are also short-distance altitude resident and migrant. After reproduction they descend to lower altitudes in the Himalayas and move to lower altitudes also in EAS. But they generally reside in the Malay Peninsula and sometimes wandering in the NE of Bangladesh and Cambodia. Diet items include small to medium-sized invertebrates and berries and it also takes large crickets (orthopterans) and small snakes. They are usually solitary or seen in pairs; tee and accessible. A lazy bird, it often spends long periods inactive on the perches, becoming active towards sunset. Look for weed food at the medium level of forest trees, often in the darkest interior of the forest, along trails or near streams; also on electrical lines. Occasionally it chases insects in flight, but in general it is less agile in flight than most flycatchers and usually captures prey near the ground; large objects can be eaten on the ground. They occasionally flap their wings and tail and also fan their tails when alarmed.
The Large Niltava sings a simple sequence of 3 or 4 soft, ascending and melancholic whistles, "uu-uu-du-di", or "do ray, ray me" or a longer "fu fay fe-fi", repeated slowly and at intervals for a maximum of 15 minutes; also a soft or discreet "chu-ii" or "dju-ee", second highest note. Alarm calls include a loud "trrr'k trrr'k" or "chek-chek" and a rough rattle.
They reproduce between February and July. The nest is a voluminous open or vaulted cup of green moss, bryophytes and fibers and roots of plants, located up to 6 m from the ground between boulders, in a hole in or above the stump of a tree, on a wall, against the moss trunk of a tree or in vine stems, or in a hollow in a moss-covered bench in a deeply shaded area of the forest. It lays 2-3 eggs; there is no information about the incubation and pigeon periods.
The Large Niltava is not globally threatened and is classified as Least Concern but with a side note of Mild Concern. It is generally uncommon to quite common. Local and rare from the east of Nepal to Bhutan, and rare in the south of China. It is locally common in the North and Central regions of Laos, common in the North and Central regions of Thailand and common in peninsular Malaysia.
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