Cissa (genus)
Cissa is a genus of relatively short-tailed magpies, sometimes known as hunting cissas, that reside in the forests of tropical and subtropical southeast Asia and adjacent regions. The four species are quite similar with bright red bills, a mainly green plumage, black mask, and rufous wings. Due to excess exposure to sunlight (and, possibly, a low-carotenoid diet), they often appear rather turquoise (instead of green) in captivity. They are carnivorous, and mainly feed on arthropods and small vertebrates.
| Cissa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Javan green magpie (Cissa thalassina) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Corvidae |
| Genus: | Cissa F. Boie, 1826 |
| Species | |
The genus was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1826 with the common green magpie (Cissa chinensis) as the type species.[1][2] The name Cissa is from the Ancient Greek kissa meaning a "jay" or "magpie".[3]
The genus Cissa contains four species:[4]
| Species of Cissa | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Common and binomial names | Image | Description | Range |
| Common green magpie (Cissa chinensis) |
 |
Lower Himalayas to mainland southeast Asia, as well as Borneo and Sumatra | |
| Indochinese green magpie (Cissa hypoleuca) |
 |
Mainland southeast Asia and adjacent parts of China | |
| Javan green magpie (Cissa thalassina) |
 |
Java | |
| Bornean green magpie (Cissa jefferyi) |
.jpg.webp) |
Borneo | |
References
- Boie, Friedrich (1826). "Generalübersicht der ornithologischen Ordnungen, Familien und Gattungen". Isis von Oken (in German). 19. Cols 969–981 [975 Fn. 2].
- Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1962). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 15. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 242.
- Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 109. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Crows, mudnesters, birds-of-paradise". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 25 August 2019.