These birds are native to South and Southeast Asia, but have been introduced to Kaua'i, Hawai'i and to O'ahu. They are popular cage bird, with some escapee birds establishing themselves in Taiwan and other countries.
In Asia, their habitat is dense undergrowth especially in bamboo forests. In Hawaii, they are common in valley forests or on the ridges of the southern Ko'olaus, and tend to nest in undergrowth or low trees of lowland broadleaf forests.
The White-rumped Shama is typically 23-28cm in length. This specimen featured in this stamp is male, where the female is more of a greyish-brown and shorter in length. They feed on insects in the wild but in captivity feed on boiled and dried legumes with egg yolk and raw meat.
The White-rumped Shama is shy and somewhat crepuscular* but very territorial. The voice of this species is rich and melodious which made them popular as cage birds. It is loud and clear, with a variety of phrases, and often mimics other birds. They also make a Tck call in alarm or when foraging. One of the first recordings of a bird song that was ever made was of this species. This recording was made in 1889 from a captive individual using an Edison wax cylinder by Ludwig Koch in Germany. Song, including the Tck call : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImcO-cCuDnw
[All text above: Ref (124)]
* Crepuscular is a term used to describe some animals that are primarily active during twilight, that is at dawn and at dusk. The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight." [Text: Ref (125)]
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