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Prionops
Helmetshrikes are the eight species of smallish to mid-sized songbirds in the genus ''Prionops''. They were previously included with the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, later on split between several presumably closely related groups such as bushshrikes (Malaconotidae) and cuckooshrikes (Campephagidae), but are now considered sufficiently distinctive to be separated from that group into the family Vangidae. Description and ecology This is an African group of species which are found in scrub or open woodland. They are similar in feeding habits to shrikes, hunting insects and other small prey from a perch on a bush or tree. Although similar in build to the shrikes, these tend to be colourful species with the distinctive crests or other head ornaments, such as wattles, from which they get their name. Helmetshrikes are noisy and sociable birds, some of which breed in loose colonies. They lay 2–4 eggs in neat, well-hidden nests. Systematics As the relationships of the shr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Retz's Helmetshrike
Retz's helmetshrike (''Prionops retzii'') is a species of bird in the helmetshrike family Vangidae, formerly usually included in the Malaconotidae. Subspecies Four subspecies are recognized: * ''P. r. nigricans'' (Neumann, 1899) – south central Africa * ''P. r. graculinus'' Cabanis, 1868 – East Africa * ''P. r. retzii'' Wahlberg, 1856 – northern parts of southern Africa * ''P. r. tricolor'' G.R. Gray, 1864 – eastern and southeastern Africa Range and habitat It is found in Angola, Botswana, DRC, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland. Gallery File:Flickr - Rainbirder - Retz's Helmet-Shrike (Prionops retzii).jpg, ''P. r. graculinus'' in eastern Kenya File:Juvenile Retz's Helmet-Shrike (Prionops retzii) (6029808342), crop.jpg, ''P. r. tricolor'', juvenile in Kruger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vangidae
The family Vangidae (from ''vanga'', Malagasy language, Malagasy for the hook-billed vanga, ''Vanga curvirostris'') comprises a group of often shrike-like medium-sized birds distributed from Asia to Africa, including the vangas of Madagascar to which the family owes its name. Many species in this family were previously classified elsewhere in other families. Recent molecular techniques made it possible to assign these species to Vangidae, thereby solving several taxonomic enigmas. The family contains 40 species divided into 21 genera. Taxonomy In addition to the small set of Malagasy species traditionally called the vangas, Vangidae includes some Asian groups: the woodshrikes (''Tephrodornis''), flycatcher-shrikes (''Hemipus'') and philentomas. Vangidae belongs to a clade of corvid birds that also includes bushshrikes (Malaconotidae), ioras (Aegithinidae) and the Australian butcherbirds, magpies and currawongs (Cracticidae) and woodswallows (Artamidae), which has been defined ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White-crested Helmetshrike
The white-crested helmetshrike (''Prionops plumatus''), also known as the white helmetshrike, is a species of passerine bird in the Vanga family Vangidae, formerly usually included in the Malaconotidae. Distribution and habitat It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, moist savanna, and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. Behaviour It is a gregarious bird and is found in small, active parties that are always on the move as they forage among the foliage or on the ground. They chatter noisily to one another as they move through their territory. Gallery ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow-crested Helmetshrike
The yellow-crested helmetshrike (''Prionops alberti'') or King Albert's helmetshrike is a species of bird in the Vanga family Vangidae. This large, striking helmetshrike is unique in its black plumage and bright yellow crest. Though this species has been encountered broadly across the mountains of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, there is still much to learn about this species. It is rarely reported due to the majority of its distribution occurring in relatively remote regions within the Albertine Rift, an area with ongoing armed conflict. Description Appearance Adults are generally all black with a bright yellow or gold crest (sometimes described as a "helmet"), with the yellow extending across the entire top half of the head above the eyeline and extending backwards behind the eye. The greenish-yellow irides are surrounded by an orange eye-wattle; the bill, like the plumage, is black, though the legs and feet are reported to be light red. Individuals can be quit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey-crested Helmetshrike
The gray-crested helmetshrike (''Prionops poliolophus'') is a species of bird in the Vanga family Vangidae, formerly usually included in the Malaconotidae. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss. It has a clutch size of one egg. Gallery File:Prionops poliolophus -Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya-8 (cropped).jpg, At Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ... File:Prionops Sigmodus Gronvold.jpg, Illustration with '' Prionops rufiventris'' References Prionops Birds of East Africa Birds described in 1884 Taxa named by Gustav Fischer Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Corvoidea-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chestnut-fronted Helmetshrike
The chestnut-fronted helmetshrike (''Prionops scopifrons'') is a species of bird in the Vanga family Vangidae, formerly usually included in the Malaconotidae. It is found in Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ..., and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland found around the equator. References External links * Chestnut-fronted helmetshrike Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds chestnut-fronted helmetshrike Birds of East Africa chestnut-fronted helmetshrike chestnut-fronted helmetshrike Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Corvoidea-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rufous-bellied Helmetshrike
The rufous-bellied helmetshrike or Gabon helmetshrike (''Prionops rufiventris'') is a passerine bird belonging to the Vanga family, Vangidae. It inhabits tropical forest in Central Africa. It is sometimes included within the chestnut-bellied helmetshrike (''P. caniceps'') of West Africa. Description It is 20–22 cm long. The adult has glossy black upperparts and throat and reddish-brown underparts with a narrow white breastband. The top and sides of the head and the chin are pale blue-grey and there are bushy whitish feathers on the forehead. The wings are broad and rounded with a white band across the primaries. The bill, legs and feet are orange-red and the eye is yellow with a bare orange-red ring around it. The eastern subspecies ''P. r. mentalis'' has darker underparts and a grey-brown eye. Juvenile birds are duller than the adults and have a pale buff-white breast and belly and a largely whitish head. The bill is blackish and the legs and feet are dark orange. It i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-billed Helmetshrike
The red-billed helmetshrike or chestnut-bellied helmetshrike (''Prionops caniceps'') is a species of bird in the Vanga family, Vangidae, formerly usually included in the Malaconotidae. It is native to the Guinean Forests of West Africa. In Central Africa it is replaced by the rufous-bellied helmet-shrike (''P. rufiventris'') ; both are sometimes regarded as two subspecies of the "chestnut-bellied helmetshrike". Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge .... References * African Bird Club (2008) ABC African Checklist: Passerines' Accessed 20/08/08. red-billed helmetshrike Birds of West Africa red-billed helmetshrike red-billed helmetshrike Taxonomy arti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gabela Helmetshrike
The Gabela helmetshrike (''Prionops gabela'') is a species of bird in the Vanga family Vangidae, formerly usually included in the Malaconotidae. It is endemic to Angola. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease .... References External linksBirdLife Species Factsheet. Gabela helmetshrike Endemic birds of Angola Western Afromontane endemic bird species Gabela helmetshrike Gabela helmetshrike Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Corvoidea-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evolutionary Radiation
An evolutionary radiation is an increase in taxonomic diversity that is caused by elevated rates of speciation, that may or may not be associated with an increase in morphological disparity. A significantly large and diverse radiation within a relatively short geologic time scale (e.g. a period or epoch) is often referred to as an explosion. Radiations may affect one clade or many, and be rapid or gradual; where they are rapid, and driven by a single lineage's adaptation to their environment, they are termed adaptive radiations. Examples Perhaps the most familiar example of an evolutionary radiation is that of placental mammals immediately after the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous, about 66 million years ago. At that time, the placental mammals were mostly small, insect-eating animals similar in size and shape to modern shrews. By the Eocene (58–37 million years ago), they had evolved into such diverse forms as bats, whales, and hor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
