Oriental Magpie-Robin

SCI Name:  Copsychus saularis
Protonym:  Gracula Saularis Syst.Nat.ed.10 p.165
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Muscicapidae / Copsychus
Taxonomy Code:  magrob
Type Locality:  Asia; restricted to Bengal by Baker, 1921, Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc, 27, p. 714.
Author:  Linnaeus
Publish Year:  1758
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

COPSYCHUS
(Muscicapidae; Ϯ Oriental Magpie Robin C. saularis) Gr. κοψυχος kopsukhos or κοψιχος kopsikhos  blackbird; "Gracula Saularis Gmel., Lath., Turdus mindanensis Gmel., Lath., Turdus amoenus Horsf., Lanius musicus Raffl., Lanius Shalaris Vieill. *)   ...   *) Constituo ex hac ave genus distinctum Copsychum (Kοψυχος  merula).  Ad hoc accedunt species: Lanius jocosus (idem qui Lanius Emeria Edw. 4. t. 190. fig. e specimine manco.) — Turdus macrurus (Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. 3. t. 114.) — Turdus melanicterus Vieill. N. D. 20. p. 267. (Le Merle jaune huppé Levaill. l.c. t. 117.)" (Wagler 1827); "Copsychus Wagler, 1827, Syst. Av., note to art. Gracula, p. 306. Type, by subsequent designation (Gray, 1840, List Gen. Birds, ed. 1, p. 21), Gracula saularis Linnaeus." (Ripley in Peters, 1964, X, p. 64).
Var. Copsychum.
Synon. Copsicus, Dahila, Gervaisia, Gryllivora, Polypeira.

saularis
Gr. σαυλος saulos  swaggering, wagging the rump, prancing. Earlier authors suggested that Linnaeus, believing Albin’s “Dial Bird” (< Hindi name Dayāl for this bird) had something to do with a sun-dial, meant to name it solaris (< L. solaris solar, of the sun), but by a slip of the pen wrote saularis (e.g. "La PIE-GRIÈCHE CADRAN, Lanius saularis  ...se trouve au Bengale, où les Anglais lui donnent le nom de dialbird (l'horloge ou le cadran)" (Vieillot 1818)). However, this discounts Ray’s earlier name “Saulary”, referring to the frequently cocked and fanned tail and active, wanton behaviour of the familiar Oriental Magpie Robin; "50. GRACULA.  ...  Saularis.  5. G. nigro-cærulescens, abdomine macula alarum rectricibusque lateralibus albis.  Pica minor benghalensis. Edw. av. 181. t. 181.  Dialbird. Alb. av. 3. p. 17. t. 17. 18.  Saularis maderaspatanus. Raj. av. 197. t. 2. f. 19.20.  Habitat in Asia." (Linnaeus 1758) (Copsychus).

SUBSPECIES

Oriental Magpie-Robin (Oriental)
SCI Name: Copsychus saularis [saularis Group]
COPSYCHUS
(Muscicapidae; Ϯ Oriental Magpie Robin C. saularis) Gr. κοψυχος kopsukhos or κοψιχος kopsikhos  blackbird; "Gracula Saularis Gmel., Lath., Turdus mindanensis Gmel., Lath., Turdus amoenus Horsf., Lanius musicus Raffl., Lanius Shalaris Vieill. *)   ...   *) Constituo ex hac ave genus distinctum Copsychum (Kοψυχος  merula).  Ad hoc accedunt species: Lanius jocosus (idem qui Lanius Emeria Edw. 4. t. 190. fig. e specimine manco.) — Turdus macrurus (Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. 3. t. 114.) — Turdus melanicterus Vieill. N. D. 20. p. 267. (Le Merle jaune huppé Levaill. l.c. t. 117.)" (Wagler 1827); "Copsychus Wagler, 1827, Syst. Av., note to art. Gracula, p. 306. Type, by subsequent designation (Gray, 1840, List Gen. Birds, ed. 1, p. 21), Gracula saularis Linnaeus." (Ripley in Peters, 1964, X, p. 64).
Var. Copsychum.
Synon. Copsicus, Dahila, Gervaisia, Gryllivora, Polypeira.

Oriental Magpie-Robin (Black)
SCI Name: Copsychus saularis [amoenus Group]
COPSYCHUS
(Muscicapidae; Ϯ Oriental Magpie Robin C. saularis) Gr. κοψυχος kopsukhos or κοψιχος kopsikhos  blackbird; "Gracula Saularis Gmel., Lath., Turdus mindanensis Gmel., Lath., Turdus amoenus Horsf., Lanius musicus Raffl., Lanius Shalaris Vieill. *)   ...   *) Constituo ex hac ave genus distinctum Copsychum (Kοψυχος  merula).  Ad hoc accedunt species: Lanius jocosus (idem qui Lanius Emeria Edw. 4. t. 190. fig. e specimine manco.) — Turdus macrurus (Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. 3. t. 114.) — Turdus melanicterus Vieill. N. D. 20. p. 267. (Le Merle jaune huppé Levaill. l.c. t. 117.)" (Wagler 1827); "Copsychus Wagler, 1827, Syst. Av., note to art. Gracula, p. 306. Type, by subsequent designation (Gray, 1840, List Gen. Birds, ed. 1, p. 21), Gracula saularis Linnaeus." (Ripley in Peters, 1964, X, p. 64).
Var. Copsychum.
Synon. Copsicus, Dahila, Gervaisia, Gryllivora, Polypeira.