Subspecies in India
This has in the past been known as the White-bellied Blue Robin (S. albiventris) and Rufous-bellied Shortwing/Nilgiri Shortwing/Nilgiri Blue Robin (S. major) that occur south and north of the Palghat Gap, respectively. A new genus, Sholicola, has also been recently proposed to circumscribe major, albiventris and ashambuensis (in Ashambu Hills of southern Kerala) as three distinct species (Robin et al. 2017).
This species is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).
This species is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).Photo Gallery and Species Biology
Sholicola major - Nilgiri Sholakili
This altitudinal migrant species is rare and endemic. It is sedentary and it inhabits the shola forests of the Western ghats of India (mainly reported from Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu, the south Wayanad hills in Kerala, and in Baba Budan hills in south-west Karnataka), at heights ranging from 1,000m to 1,500m asl. Its breeding season occurs during April and May.
Conservation Status:
This species is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).
According to the IUCN Red List assessment, the population of this species is declining, its current population size is unknown. The threat to its persistence comes from habitat disturbance due to agriculture, urbanization, dam building, and other human encroachments like logging and plant gathering.
This species is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).According to the IUCN Red List assessment, the population of this species is declining, its current population size is unknown. The threat to its persistence comes from habitat disturbance due to agriculture, urbanization, dam building, and other human encroachments like logging and plant gathering.
| State | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | No date |
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| Kerala | |||||||||||||
| Lakshadweep | |||||||||||||
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| Paschimbanga | |||||||||||||
| Pondicherry | |||||||||||||
| Punjab | |||||||||||||
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| Sikkim | |||||||||||||
| Tamil Nadu | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Tripura | |||||||||||||
| Uttar Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Uttarakhand | |||||||||||||
| West Bengal | |||||||||||||
| Total | 1 |
- Robin, V. V., C. K. Vishnudas, P. Gupta, F. E. Rheindt, D. M. Hooper, U. Ramakrishnan, and S. Reddy. 2017. Two new genera of songbirds represent endemic radiations from the shola sky islands of the Western Ghats, India. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 17:31.
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BirdLife International. 2016. Myiomela major. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22735416A95110419.
https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22735416A95110419.en. Accessed on 29 November 2020.
Page citation
Anonymous 2024. Sholicola major (Jerdon, 1841) – Nilgiri Sholakili. In Satose, V., A. Bayani, V. Ramachandran, P. Roy, and K. Kunte (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 2.17. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.birdsofindia.org/sholicola-major, accessed 2024/10/07.