Leafbird Species & Ranges

(Chloropsis sonnerati)

• Chloropsis sonnerati sonnerati (Jardine and Selby, 1827) – Nominate Race
  • Range: Occur naturally on the island of Java in Indonesia, where they are rare.
• Chloropsis sonnerati zosterops (Vigors, 1830)
  • Range: Southern Burma (Republic of the Union of Myanmar) in central Tenasserim and southwestern Thailand south to Sumatra and satellite islands, east to northern Natuna Islands and the island of Borneo located north of Java Island, Indonesia. This race is fairly common in suitable habitat.
    • [parvirostris] from Nias – an island off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. This race was merged with ssp. zosterops, as its bill characteristics fall within range of variation of the mainland populations.

Lesser Green Leafbird (Chloropsis cyanopogon)

• Chloropsis cyanopogon cyanopogon (Temminck, 1830) – Nominate Race
  • Range: Southern Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo, including Banggi Islands, off northern coast
• Chloropsis cyanopogon septentrionalis (Robinson and Kloss, 1919)
  • Range: Occurs in extreme southern Burma (Republic of the Union of Myanmar) in southern Tenasserim, southwestern Thailand and northern Malay Peninsula

Blue-masked Leafbird (Chloropsis venusta)

• Distribution: Upland Sumatra – an island in western Indonesia, the westernmost of the Sunda Islands – from Aceh south along Barisan Range to Lampung.

Blue-winged Leafbird or Yellow-headed Leafbird (Chloropsis cochinchinensis)

• Chloropsis cochinchinensis cochinchinensis (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) – Nominate Race
  • Range: Java Islands in Indonesia
  Chloropsis cochinchinensis chlorocephala (Walden, 1871)
  • Range: Found in extreme eastern Bangladesh and northeastern India (Assam) east to Myanmar and western Thailand
• Chloropsis cochinchinensis kinneari (B. P. Hall and Deignan, 1956)
  • Range: Southern China (south Yunnan), northern Indochina and northeastern Thailand.
• Chloropsis cochinchinensis auropectus (Wells et al., 2003)
  • Range: Southeastern Thailand and southern Indochina.
• Chloropsis cochinchinensis serithai (Deignan, 1946)
  • Range: Northern Malay Peninsula
• Chloropsis cochinchinensis moluccensis (J. E. Gray, 1831)
  • Range: Southern Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and satellites and northern Natuna Islands.
• Chloropsis cochinchinensis viridinucha (Sharpe, 1877)
  • Range: Borneo Island (except far north)

Jerdon’s Leafbird (Chloropsis jerdoni)

• Distribution: Occur naturally in India south from southern Gujarat (Gulf of Cambay), central Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal and Sri Lanka.

Bornean Leafbird (Chloropsis kinabaluensis)

• Range: Found in northern Borneo, from Mount Kinabalu south along the spinal mountains to Mount Dulit and the Usun Apau Plateau and east to Kayan Mentarang.

Yellow-throated Leafbird (Chloropsis palawanensis)

• Distribution: Found in western Philippines: Calamian Group (Calauit, Busuanga and Culion) and Palawan (including the satellite islands of Dumaran and Balabac)

Philippine Leafbird (Chloropsis flavipennis)

• Distribution: Occurs naturally in central and southern Philippines: Samar, Leyte, Cebu and Mindanao.

Golden-fronted Leafbird (Chloropsis aurifrons)

• Chloropsis aurifrons aurifrons (Temminck, 1829) – Nominate Race
  • Range: Northeastern Indian Subcontinent – east in the Himalayan foothills from Himachal Pradesh, south to Orissa) as well as northern, western and central Myanmar
• Chloropsis aurifrons frontalis (Pelzeln, 1856)
  • Range: Western and eastern India – south from southern Gujarat and the Satpura Range and, in the east, from central Orissa
• Chloropsis aurifrons insularis (Whistler and Kinnear, 1932)
  • Range: Far southwestern India and Sri Lanka
• Chloropsis aurifrons pridii (Deignan, 1946)
  • Range: Southern China (specifically southwestern Yunnan), east and southern Myanmar, northwestern and western Thailand and northern and central Laos
• Chloropsis aurifrons inornata (Kloss, 1918)
  • Range: East-central and eastern Thailand, southern Laos and central Vietnam
• Chloropsis aurifrons incompta (Deignan, 1948)
  • Range: Southwestern and southeastern Thailand, Cambodia and southern Vietnam

Sumatran Leafbird (Chloropsis media)

• Distribution: Occurs naturally in upland Sumatra, from Aceh south through Barisan Range to Selatan.

Orange-bellied Leafbird (Chloropsis hardwickii)

• Chloropsis hardwickii hardwickii (Jardine and Selby, 1830) – Nominate Form
  • Occur naturally in northern India (Himachal Pradesh) east in the Himalayan foothills and hill tracts to southern China (southeastern Tibet, Yunnan), Myanmar, northwestern Thailand and northern Laos.
• Chloropsis hardwickii malayana (Robinson and Kloss, 1923)
  • Endemic in the uplands of southern Myanmar (northern and central Tenasserim) and Peninsular Malaysia.
• Chloropsis hardwickii melliana (Stresemann, 1923)
  • Native to the uplands of southern China (from Guizhou and Guangxi east to Fujian) and of northern and central Vietnam south to southern Annam
• Chloropsis hardwickii lazulina (Swinhoe, 1870)
  • Found in the uplands of Hainan islands – the smallest province of the People’s Republic of China

Leafbird Information … Leafbird Species Photo Gallery