Malia (bird)
Encyclopedia
The Malia, Malia grata is a medium-sized (approximately 29 cm long) babbler-like passerine
. It has an olive-green plumage, yellowish head and chest, and pinkish-brown bill
. The young is duller than adult. It is the only member in the genus Malia.
An Indonesia
n endemic
, the Malia is restricted to montane forests of Sulawesi
. Usually, it is found in pairs or small groups of three to seven birds. The diet consists mainly of insects, beetles and other arthropod
s.
The taxonomy
of this species is not certainly known. The Malia has bulbul
-like plumage characters, but its behavior is similar to Old World babbler
s' and it may be a relative of theirs.
Widespread and common in its habitat and range, the Malia is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
. It has an olive-green plumage, yellowish head and chest, and pinkish-brown bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
. The young is duller than adult. It is the only member in the genus Malia.
An Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n endemic
Endemism in birds
An endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....
, the Malia is restricted to montane forests of Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
. Usually, it is found in pairs or small groups of three to seven birds. The diet consists mainly of insects, beetles and other arthropod
Arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
s.
The taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
of this species is not certainly known. The Malia has bulbul
Bulbul
Bulbuls are a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds. Many forest species are known as greenbuls. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical Asia to Indonesia, and north as far as Japan. A few insular species occur on the tropical islands...
-like plumage characters, but its behavior is similar to Old World babbler
Old World babbler
The Old World babblers or timaliids are a large family of mostly Old World passerine birds. They are rather diverse in size and coloration, but are characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent...
s' and it may be a relative of theirs.
Widespread and common in its habitat and range, the Malia is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of Threatened Species.