White-breasted Woodswallow – calls

“White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucoryn leucoryn) are common in Borneo but from many visits there and a 3 year stint of work, I get the impression that they are more common in Sarawak (south) than in Sabah (north).

“This bird was one of a pair and I stopped to listen to the calls that I often have heard. Phillipps (2014) describes it best as a “wheezy chatter”. They are also noted to be able to mimic other birds but I have yet to experience this.

“An edited recording of the calls below:

“A sonogram and waveform is shown below.”

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
29th April 2016

Location: Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
Habitat: Urban environment