Dulit Partridge Rhizothera dulitensis Scientific name definitions

c. 37 cm. A large partridge with long, decurved bill. Male has forehead to nape brown, contrasting chestnut on rest of head to chin and upper throat; upperparts brownish; broad grey band from lower throat to upper breast and extending rearwards to lower hindneck and upper mantle; lowermost breast and entire belly and flanks white, vent tinged rufous; iris brown; bill grey; legs yellowish-grey. Differs from R. longirostris  in having white (not rufous) belly and flanks, no white spots in wing, no rufous patches in wing-coverts. Female is similar to male, but grey breastband is replaced by rufous. Juvenile female has dark brown supercilium with buff streaks, buff streaks on sides of throat and breast to hindneck, no grey on underparts, dark brown vermiculations on sides of breast, belly and flanks creamy buff, and bill has pale tip; juvenile male similar but has chin and throat duller and greyer, grey vermiculations on sides of breast, and flanks, belly and vent pale smoky-grey.

The split of this “montane” form from “lowland” R. longirostris follows a proposal made in 1999 (1 Davison, G.W.H. (1999). Notes on the taxonomy of some Bornean birds. Sarawak Mus. J. 54(75): 289–299. Close ). Male dulitensis shows white vs pale rufous belly (3); lower breast and flanks grey (as throat and upper breast; but a shade darker than grey of throat and upper breast of longirostris) vs mid-rufous (3); no pale rufous patches in wing-coverts (1); slightly darker chestnut chin and upper throat (ns[1]). Monotypic.

Mountains of N Borneo in E Sarawak (Mt Murud, Mt Dulit and Batu Song); also Mt Kinabalu, in Sabah, where only old records exist (2 Davison, G.W.H. (2008). Records of Rhizothera (longirostris) dulitensis in Sabah. Forktail 24: 125–127. Close ).

VULNERABLE. Very poorly known. Has very small, fragmented range. No definite records from Sabah (Mt Kinabalu) since 19th century (specimens); several post-1950 reports, e.g. from Crocker Range, thought possibly referable to this species. No confirmed records from Sarawak since 1930s, but some reports suggest that it survives there. Recent BirdLife estimate puts global population in range 1000–2500 mature individuals. Logging of forests, combined with hunting and with trapping for trade, suggests that population likely to be in decline.