Oriental Magpie-Robin
Copsychus saularis (Linnaeus, 1758)
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 Oriental magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but now considered an Old World flycatcher. The males are distinctive black and white birds with a long tail that is held upright as they forage on the ground or perch conspicuously. Occurring across most of the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia, they are common birds in urban gardens as well as forests. They are particularly well known for their songs and are popular as cagebirds.
The oriental magpie-robin is considered the national bird of Bangladesh.
Wikipedia contributors, Oriental magpie-robin; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:49:47.525722+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Copsychus saularis (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- Oriental Magpie-Robin
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Copsychus
- 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
- familyMuscicapidae Fleming, 1822
- genusCopsychus Wagler, 1827
- speciesCopsychus saularis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Copsychus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Black ShamaCopsychus cebuensis (Steere, 1890) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Copsychus albiventris (Blyth, 1858) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-rumped ShamaCopsychus malabaricus (Scopoli, 1786) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-vented ShamaCopsychus niger (Sharpe, 1877) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-crowned ShamaCopsychus stricklandii Motley & Dillwyn, 1855 | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
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=559432 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:Y6YK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.