Long-tailed Broadbill

Long-tailed Broadbill

                    Introduction of Long-tailed Broadbill

         The long-tailed broadbill  is a very colourful bird (Scientific name : Psarisomus dalhousiae) belongs to the   broadbill species that is found in the Himalayas, extending east through Northeastern India to Southeast Asia. It is the only bird in the genus Psarisomus. The scientific name commemorates Christina Broun, Countess of Dalhousie (1786–1839), wife of George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie.

                     How to Identify Long-tailed Broadbill 

        The long-tailed Broadbill is about 25 cm (10 inches) long and weighs between 50 to 60 grams.
   These Broadbill species have  long tail and  bright green plumage.Both sexes alike.
         The adult long-tailed Broadbills have a helmet-like black cap and a glossy blue patch on the crown. There are yellow or yellowish green patches on each side of the occiput. There is a smaller glossy llight blue patch on the nape.
        The face and throat are bright yellow in color. There is a yellow throat band. There is a frill of whitish silky feathers which nearly surrounds the throat below the yellow band. The chin has a wash of pale yellowish green.
         The upper part and wings are deep grass green. The underparts are verditer green or bluish green. The primary feathers are black, having metallic blue margin at the base of the external web and white spot on the base of the inner web.
          When they flight, the underwings of the long-tailed broadbill appear blackish brown with white patches on the base of the primary feathers. The tail is long, the undertail being black and graduated while the uppertail being blue or greenish blue.
          The bill of the Broadbill is broad, strong and pale yellowish green with lighter edges. The irises are reddish brown. The eyering is yellowish. The forepart of the tarsi and toes are pea-green and the hinder side and the under parts are fleshy brown.
          The young broadbill species are short-tailed, having green head and dull plumage. The long-tailed broadbills are noisy during breeding season.
             Call of Long-tailed Broadbill
       The call of the long-tailed broadbill is shrill, loud "pseeu..pseeu..pseeu" and "tseeay..tseeay..tseeay" sounds on a descending scale. They also make a sharp rasping "pseeup" sound.

              Habits and Habitats

        These long-tailed broadbill species have medium forest dependence. These species normally found in altitudes from 150 to 2500 meters. Natural habitat of broadbills are  forests, streams and creeks, tropical and subtropical moist lowland forests, tropical and subtropical moist mountain forests,  near rivers, freshwater lakes and wetlands,
        The long-tailed broadbill species are non-migratory resident birds. In Himalayas, the birds in higher altitudes move to lower levels during winter.
                  Food
the long-tailed broadbill lives mainly on insects. Grasshoppers, crickets, locust, beetles, aphids, dipteran flies, bugs, moths and spiders are their primary food. Occasionally they may feed on small frogs, berries and fruits.

                  Nesting and Breeding

     The breeding season of these long-tailed broadbill species is from March to August in Indian Subcontinent and from April in Myanmar.  The female usually lays between 5 and 6 eggs that are incubated by both sexes; both sexes also help to feed the young.
     The breeding pair of long-tailed broadbills build large, bulky pear-shaped nest. The nest is usually suspended from a branch of a tall slender tree, which hangs on  water. The nest has a small 1-2 inch circular aperture as entrance on the side of the structure.
      The broadbill  build their nest with fine roots, creepers, mosses, dead leaves and other fibrous and stringy vegetable matter. The entrance of the nest is protected by a curtain of leaves. The nest is lined with grass, rootlets or small dry leaves.
      The  broadbill clutch consists 5-6 eggs. Eggs are elongated, oval and white in color. Both the male and female incubate the eggs and both take the responsibility to feed the young. Post breeding, the juvenile broadbills may disperse and establish in new locations within the range.
     It is very sociable and normally travels in large, noisy groups except during the breeding season.

                Distribution

     The long-tailed broadbill species are distributed in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh (probably extinct), Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, China (Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi), Malaysia and Indonesia.
     In India, these long-tailed broadbill species arefound in the states of Uttarakhand, Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.
           The long-tailed broadbill has five sub-species.
         Sub-species P.d. dalhousiae is distributed in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, northern Myanmar, southern China, Thailand, Laos and central Vietnam.
     Sub-species P.d. borneensis is distributed in north Borneo (Malaysia and Indonesia).
     Sub-species P.d. cyanicauda is distributed in southern Thailand and Cambodia.
     Sub-species P.d. divinus is distributed in southern Vietnam.
     Sub-species P.d. psittacinus is distributed in Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra (Indonesia).

      The Long-tailed Broadbill is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as they are widely distributed within suitable habitats throughout its large range.