White-bellied shortwing  (Brachypteryx major)

The white-bellied shortwing is an elusive member of the Muscicapidae family, or Old World flycatchers. It is a small, compact bird with a plump body, coloured with a dark bluish-grey head, breast and upperside, and a white underside. Two subspecies of the white-bellied shortwing are recognised: Brachypteryx major major has dark red sides and undertail feathers, whereas the blue colouration of the head and back continues down onto the sides and undertail feathers in Brachypteryx major albiventris. Although generally a quiet species, an occasional high-pitched and pleasant song can be heard (2), mostly in the breeding season (3), and the call is either a chattering rattle or a thin whistle (2).

The white-bellied shortwing is endemic to the most southerly part of the Western Ghats of India. B. m. major is found north of a geographical gap in the Western Ghats, in southern Karnataka and the Nilgiri Hills, whereas B. m. albiventris is found south of this gap, in western Tamil Nadu and southern Kerala (2) (3).

This ground-foraging bird inhabits the montane forests, or ‘sky islands' of the Western Ghats, where it is associated with streams and wet areas. It shows a preference for forest above 1,500 metres but may occasionally also be seen in eucalyptus and acacia plantations and gardens close to primary forest (2) (4).

The white-bellied shortwing may spend much of the year in pairs. Pairs breed between March and June, laying between two and three eggs in May. Nests are built in ravines and tree hollows, and sometimes on pathside and roadside banks. Each nest consists of a large, poorly constructed bundle of green moss formed loosely into a shallow cup that may be lined with rootlets (5).

Fly-catchers by name, shortwings are insect-eating ground-feeders, picking caterpillars and small flies from the forest floor, road-sides and stream sides (5).

Numbers of the white-bellied shortwing have dwindled as a result of habitat fragmentation and disturbance (6). The conversion of primary forest to plantations, crops and human settlements has fragmented the white-bellied shortwing's range (5), and while this bird has been found in altered habitats, such as plantations, it only inhabits those areas which are close to forests (3). The large scale conversion of land in the Western Ghats may have ceased some time back, but the white-bellied shortwing continues to be affected by the past activities of humans (3).

The white-bellied shortwing is found mostly in protected areas, including Grasshills National Park and Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Mukurthi National Park, Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Peppara Wildlife Santuary, Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary and Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary (3). In addition, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has put forward a plan to create a sanctuary in the Palni Hills, which would protect another area where white-bellied shortwings live (2). Efforts are also underway to restore forest in some areas of the white-bellied shortwings range (3), efforts that will not only benefit this vulnerable bird, but also many other inhabitants of the Western Ghats.

For further information on the restoration of forests in India see:

• Vattakanal Conservation Trust:
  www.vct.in
• Nature Conservation Foundation:
  www.ncf-india.org/restoration

Authenticated (19/05/08) by V.V. Robin, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore.