The white-vented shama (Copsychus niger) is a species of bird in the chat and flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the Palawan, Balabac and Calamian in the Philippines. The species is sometimes placed in the genus Kittacincla, and is the sister species to the black shama of Cebu.[2]
| White-vented shama | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Muscicapidae |
| Genus: | Copsychus |
| Species: | C. niger |
| Binomial name | |
| Copsychus niger (Sharpe, 1877) | |
The white-vented shama is 18 to 21 cm (7.1–8.3 in) long and has almost entirely black plumage except for white undertail coverts and four white feathers on the outer edge of the tail. Little is known about the species, which lives in primary on degraded rainforest and scrub.[2]