Biology:Cissa (genus)

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Short description: Genus of birds


Cissa
Kraska krátkoocasá Zoo Praha 1.jpg
Javan green magpie (Cissa thalassina)
Scientific classification e
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Genus: Cissa
F. Boie, 1826
Type species
Coracias sinensis[1]
Gmelin, 1788
Species
  • Cissa chinensis
  • Cissa hypoleuca
  • Cissa jefferyi
  • Cissa thalassina

Cissa is a genus of relatively short-tailed magpies, sometimes known as hunting cissas, that reside in the forests of tropical and subtropical southeast Asia and adjacent regions. The four species are quite similar with bright red bills, primarily green plumage, black mask, and rufous wings.

Due to a low-carotenoid diet[2] they often appear blue or turquoise in captivity; the structural color of their feathers.

They are carnivorous, and mainly feed on arthropods and small vertebrates.

The genus was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1826 with the common green magpie (Cissa chinensis) as the type species.[3][4] The name Cissa is from the Ancient Greek kissa meaning a "jay" or "magpie".[5]

The genus Cissa contains four species:[6]

Species of Cissa
Common and binomial names Image Description Range
Common green magpie
(Cissa chinensis)
Cissa chinensis -Chiang Mai Zoo, Thailand-8a.jpg Common green magpies have long tail feathers, striped black and white tertiaries, and a subtle yellow cap Lower Himalayas to mainland southeast Asia, as well as Borneo and Sumatra
Indochinese green magpie
(Cissa hypoleuca)
Indochinese green magpie.jpg Unique to this genus, indochinese green magpies have a yellow underbelly Mainland southeast Asia and adjacent parts of China
Javan green magpie
(Cissa thalassina)
Javan Green Magpie at Chester Zoo.png Javan green magpies have short tails and white tertiary feathers Java
Bornean green magpie
(Cissa jefferyi)
Short-tailed Green Magpie (13890572635).jpg Bornean green magpies look much like the other species in this genus but have white irises Borneo

References

Wikidata ☰ Q943396 entry