NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Grey Treepie
Dendrocitta formosae Swinhoe, 1863
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The grey treepie (Dendrocitta formosae), also known as the Himalayan treepie, is an Asian treepie, a medium-sized and long-tailed member of the crow family. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1863. They are widely distributed along the foothills of the Himalayas in the Indian subcontinent and extending into Indochina, Nepal, southern mainland China and Taiwan. The populations vary in plumage and several are named as subspecies.
Grey treepies are omnivorous birds mostly thriving among dense foliage and in forests. They sometimes take part in mixed species flocks with laughingthrushes, especially the white-throated laughingthrush. They systematically work together through the hill forests, rhododendrons, oaks and other broad-leaved trees, especially in the mornings.
Wikipedia contributors, Grey treepie; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:21:10.590742+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Dendrocitta formosae Swinhoe, 1863
- Name authority
- Swinhoe, 1863
- Common name
- Grey Treepie
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Corvidae
- Genus
- Dendrocitta
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyCorvidae Leach, 1820
- genusDendrocitta Gould, 1833
- speciesDendrocitta formosae Swinhoe, 1863
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Dendrocitta. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Bornean TreepieDendrocitta cinerascens Sharpe, 1879 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-bellied TreepieDendrocitta leucogastra Gould, 1833 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sumatran TreepieDendrocitta occipitalis (S. Müller, 1836) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Collared TreepieDendrocitta frontalis Horsfield, 1840 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rufous TreepieDendrocitta vagabunda (Latham, 1790) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Dendrocitta sinensis formosae Swinhoe, 1863 Swinhoe, 1863 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=559701 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:34PMD. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.