Rufous Treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda)
Order: PASSERIFORMES
Family: CORVIDAE Crows, Jays, Magpies
Scientific name: Dendrocitta vagabunda
English name: Rufous Treepie
Characteristic: Size 43 cm. A bright yellowish-brown bird with greyish black bill and hood; its black wing with paler grey bands traversing at the greater wing coverts and inner secondaries; Tail long grey-banded, with black tip.
Distribution: India, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos.
Habitat: Dry dipterocarp forest, mixed deciduous forest and secondary growth, form the plain to the high altitude of 2,135 m. It inhabits the grass field among dry dipterocarp forest in Sakaerat forest.
Habit: Foraging, among branches of trees, bushes and on ground in pairs or small parties, for fruits, worms, insects and carcasses; sometimes seen catching flying insects in the air. Its breeding season starts from March until May; they build a shallow cup-shaped nest of twigs, rootlets, etc. overlapping and interweaving together at tree fork that is closed to the main trunk, and about 6-8 m. hing above the ground and the nest may be lined with leaves and rootlets; the finished nest is looked rather like the crow' s nest but much smaller. Its usual clutch of eggs is 2-3, which are pale reddish, blotched all over with reddish brown and dark grey. Both parent will assist each other in nest building, incubation and nourishing young. The incubation period lasts 15-16 days.
Status: An uncommon resident is Sakaerat forest. It is protected as a protected wild animal.
