Other Scientific Names
Rhinomyias brunneata [Collar and Andrew (1988)], Rhinomyias brunneata [Collar et al. (1994)], Rhinomyias brunneata [BirdLife International (2000)], Rhinomyias brunneata [BirdLife International (2004)], Rhinomyias brunneata [Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)]
Other Names (World)
Brown-chested Jungle-Flycatcher, White-gorgeted Jungle-flycatcher, Chinese Jungle-flycatcher, Migratory Jungle-flycatcher, Chinese Olive Flycatcher (brunneatus), Nicobar Jungle-Flycatcher (nicobaricus), Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher
Family
Muscicapidae (Old World Flycatchers And Chats)
Habitat
Breeds dense bamboo undergrowth or low bushes in subtropical broadleaved evergreen forests. From 600 - 1,600 m. Winters almost exclusively in mature primary forest on flat lowland plains, and passage migrants have been recorded in lowland semi-evergreen rainforest, mixed deciduous forest, and Avicennia mangrove/beach scrub.
China (mainland) (B) (NB) (P), Malaysia (NB) (P), Singapore (NB) (P), Thailand (NB) (P).
Vagrant to Brunei Darussalam, Hong Kong (China) (P).
Population
Estimated population is 2,500 - 9,999 (2010) and decreasing.
Status VU
Habitat destruction through timber extraction and conversion to agricultural land is the main threat.
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.
Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher (Cyornis brunneatus) [XC610736]
by Joshua Chong from Central Catchment Nature Reserve, Singapore, Singapore (call)
Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher (Cyornis brunneatus) [XC892295]
by Ding Li Yong from Daqing Valley, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China (song)
Subspecies
Subspecies nicobaricus has sometimes been treated as a separate species.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
brunneatus (Slater, 1897) - Breeds south-eastern China (Jiangxi and Zhejiang south to Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian). Non-breeding Malay Peninsula.
nicobaricus Richmond, 1902 - Southern Nicobar Is (Great and Little Nicobar). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Nicobar Jungle-flycatcher (Cyornis nicobaricus).