Green Iora

About the Green Iora

The green iora (Aegithina viridissima) is a species of bird in the family Aegithinidae. It is found in the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo. Its habitats include lowland forests, secondary forest and mangrove forest. It is threatened by habitat loss, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as near-threatened.

This species was described as Jora viridissima by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1850. Harry C. Oberholser described subspecies Aegithina viridissima thapsina from the Anamba Islands in 1917, noting its larger size and yellower plumage. These two subspecies are recognised by the IOC World Bird List, while Aegithina viridissima nesiotica described by Oberholser in 1912 is now included in the nominate subspecies.

The green iora is 12–14 cm (4.7–5.5 in) long. The male has black lores and bright yellow "eyelids" (a broken eye-ring). The face and upperparts are dark olive. The wings are black, with two white wing-bars on the covert feathers and olive-yellow margins on the flight feathers. The underparts are also dark olive, with lighter flanks and a yellow centre belly. The tail is black. The eyes are dark to... Wikipedia →