White Rumped Shama
Copsychus malabaricus
Report if seen anywhere on Maui
Known from and potential habitat
Species Info General
Have you heard an unfamiliar songbird whistling and crooning around Maui? You may be hearing a white-rumped shama. Native to Western Indonesia, southern India, and southwestern China, white-rumped shamas are newcomers to Maui. Conservationists first identified a breeding population in West Maui near Honolua in 2018. The birds have since spread across the island. You’ll often hear them before you see them—listen for their flute-like whistles and melodious calls.
Attribution: JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/), CC BY-SA 3.0
Identification/Description
White-rumped shamas are part of the Old World Flycatcher family. They rainge in size from 9 to 11 inches in length with long tail feathers. Males are glossy black or navy blue with a white patch above the tail and a chestnut underside. Females look similar but their plumage is lighter, usually grey rather than black. White-rumped shamas have a recognizable call: loud and varied, consisting of whistles, flute-like notes, and sharp “tsicks.” White-rumped shamas are widespread on Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, and Maui Nui. They have not yet established on Hawai‘i Island.
PEST WATCH: Do not confuse white-rumped shama with red-vented bulbul. Red-vented bulbuls are highly invasive. Sporadic sightings have been confirmed on Maui. If you see a red-vented bulbul on Maui, report it immediately at 643PEST.org.
Impacts
- White-rumped shamas may compete with native birds for food and other resources. They also may act as carriers for avian malaria, a disease that is severely impacting native birds.
On Maui
White-rumped shamas have been in Hawai‘i for nearly a century, but it wasn’t until 2018 that conservationists confirmed a breeding population on Maui. White-rumped shamas were one of several birds introduced to Hawai‘i for their unique song.
As native bird populations began to decline around the turn of the 20th century, squawking mynahs and cooing doves filled Hawai‘i’s lowland soundscape. Hoping to bring birdsong back to their gardens, Hawai‘i socialites began importing a variety of songbirds, including white-rumped shamas. White-rumped shamas were first introduced to Kaua‘i in 1931 then O‘ahu in 1938. The birds later spread to Molokai, Lāna‘i, and more recently, Maui.
Residents reported sporadic sightings of white-rumped shama on Maui over the years, but a cluster of reports on ebird.com in 2018 alerted conservationists to a possible breeding population. Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project confirmed the birds were established in West Maui and they have since become widespread across the island.
Control info/Info on what MISC does about it
- Coming Soon!
Resources/References
- Introduced Songbirds Can Be Invasive in Hawaii – Maui Invasive Species Committee
- White-Rumped Shama – eBird.org
- Photo Attributions:
- Tisha Mukherjee, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
- JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/), CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
