Blue-winged Leafbird

Blue-winged Leafbird Chloropsis cochinchinensis is one of eleven species in the beautiful Leafbird family Chloropseidae, four of which were seen on this tour of Thailand. This bird is a female of the subspecies C.c.chlorocephala and the key identification features can be seen in the photograph: blue in the wing, malar patch and throat and a golden tinged nape. It can be found singly, in pairs or small family parties in broad leaved forests, forest edges, gardens and cultivations.

Blue-winged Leafbird has a range which covers much of the Indian subcontinent and South east Asia as far east as Borneo and as far south as Java. It is common to fairly common throughout most of its range, and therefore considered to be of least concern by BirdLife International.

References: Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp (1998) Birds of the Indian Subcontinent p.585, published by Helm; Wikipedia