Kauaʻi record · kba_bird_white_rumped_shama
White-rumped Shama
Copsychus malabaricus
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About White-rumped Shama
White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus) is recorded as a naturalized resident or reintroduced population on Kauaʻi in the Bishop Museum's 2017 island checklist. This is a documented island occurrence, not a claim of an individual sighting in 2026.
Kauaʻi evidence
Bishop Museum island checklist (version 2, 2017) lists Kauaʻi status N: naturalized resident or reintroduced population. See original island table. A Hawaiʻi-level record is available, but the species needs a documented Kauaʻi observation before local ecological conclusions are drawn.
Occurrence evidence
bishop_island_checklist_2017
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Copsychus malabaricus
- Common names
- White-rumped Shama
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Record type
- Species
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Kauaʻi documented: naturalized resident or reintroduced population (2017 island checklist)
- Origin
- Introduced
- Conservation status
- Not assessed
- Evidence date
- 2026-09-13
- Evidence limits
- Island occurrence supported by the 2017 checklist; abundance and current year presence are not established here
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Wet forest · Montane forest · Forest · Shrublands
- Food and resource needs
- Food and resources may include insects, spiders, fruit, nectar, seeds, aerial prey, or mixed omnivory according to the species' feeding guild
- Reproduction
- Suitable nesting or roosting sites, seasonal food, and protection from disturbance and predators.
- Shelter
- Shelter and structure within wet forest, montane forest, forest.
Threats and conservation
- Threats
- Competition, seed dispersal, crop/ornamental use, disease movement, and native-bird interaction are open questions
- Conservation actions
- Attach Kauai establishment status, habitat contact, abundance, management concern, and interaction evidence before intervention ranking
- Monitoring
- Document date, place, observer, habitat, behavior, and supporting media for any Kauaʻi observation.
- Data gaps
- Update island status with dated contemporary records · Specific Kauaʻi habitat and abundance need local evidence
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal description
- White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus) is recorded as a naturalized resident or reintroduced population on Kauaʻi in the Bishop Museum's 2017 island checklist. This is a documented island occurrence, not a claim of an individual sighting in 2026.
Sources and further reading
- https://westernfieldornithologists.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Hawaiian_Islands_Bird_Checklist-Jan-2019.pdf
- https://www.usgs.gov/publications/interspecific-competition-among-hawaiian-forest-birds
- https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dofaw/kauai/learn/
- https://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/SEHIlist.htm