McGregor’s Cuckooshrike
Definition
McGregor’s cuckooshrike, also called the sharp-tailed cuckooshrike, is a bird of the cuckooshrike family (Campephagidae) endemic to the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. It inhabits tropical moist montane forest, foraging in the canopy, and its population is believed to be declining because of habitat loss.
Identities (Wikipedia/Wikidata/DBpedia)
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGregor%27s_cuckooshrike
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28834841
- DBpedia: N/A
Also Known As
Sharp-tailed cuckooshrike.
Examples and Analogy
In the high-elevation forests of mountains like the Kitanglad and Apo ranges, this gray-and-black canopy bird acts as a quiet sentinel, hawking insects from the treetops the way flycatchers work a forest edge at lower elevations.
Usage Scenarios
The species is a target of montane birdwatching on Mindanao, functions as an indicator of highland forest condition, and figures in biogeographic studies that compare island mountain avifaunas.
Strategies
Conservation depends on protecting Mindanao’s montane forest blocks and managing watershed reservations that overlap the bird’s elevation band.
Security and Safety Measures
None needed toward people; measures instead address enforcement against encroachment in its highland habitat.
Historical Context
The bird commemorates Richard C. McGregor, the American ornithologist who compiled foundational early twentieth-century accounts of Philippine birds and after whom several island taxa are named.
Challenges and Controversies
Montane forest conversion for agriculture creeps upslope, and warming climates can push cool-zone species toward shrinking summit habitats, compounding the data gaps that still surround this bird’s numbers.