Vanga
Encyclopedia
The vangas are a group of little-known small to medium-sized passerine
bird
s restricted to Madagascar
and the Comoros
. They are usually classified as the family
Vangidae. There are about 22 species, depending on taxonomy. Most species are shrike-like
, arboreal forest birds, feeding on reptiles, frogs and insects. Several other Madagascan birds more similar to Old World warbler
s, Old World babbler
s or Old world flycatcher
s are now often placed in this family. Vangas differ greatly in bill
shape and have a variety of foraging methods. Their stick nests
are built in trees. They do not migrate
.
s (Prionops) and the shrike-flycatchers (Bias
and Megabyas). They also appear to be close to some Asian groups: the woodshrikes (Tephrodornis), flycatcher-shrike
s (Hemipus) and philentoma
s.
Though vangas were traditionally believed to be a small family of generally shrike-like birds, recent research suggests that several Madagascan taxa most similar in appearance and habits (and formerly considered to be) Old World warblers, Old World flycatchers or Old World babblers may be vangas. Yamagishi et al. found in 2001 that the newtonias
appeared to belong with the vangas rather than the warblers and also that the Tylas was a vanga and not a bulbul
. It also appears that Ward's Flycatcher
and Crossley's Babbler
belong with the vangas.
, having evolved from a single founding population into a variety of forms adapted to various niches
occupied by other bird families in other parts of the world. They differ in size, colour and bill shape but are similar in skull
shape and bony palate structure. They are small to medium-sized birds, varying from 12 to 32 cm in length. Many have strong, hooked bills similar to those of shrikes. The Helmet Vanga
has a particularly large bill with a casque
on top. Other species, such as the newtonias, have a small, thin bill. The Sickle-billed Vanga
is notable for its long, curved bill used to probe into holes and cracks.
Most vangas are largely black, brown or grey above and white below. Exceptions include the blue and white Blue Vanga
and the blue-grey Nuthatch Vanga
. The Helmet Vanga is mostly black with a rufous back. Male Bernier's Vanga
s are entirely black while the females are brown. It is one of several species with distinct male and female plumage while in other species the sexes are identical.
Most vangas have whistling calls.
island and, at least formerly, on Grande Comore
. They are found throughout Madagascar, in a variety of forest and scrub habitats. Several species including Van Dam's Vanga
and Sickle-billed Vanga can be found in the dry deciduous forests
in the west of the island. Some such as Crossley's Babbler, Helmet Vanga and Bernier's Vanga are restricted to rainforest
in the east of the island. Lafresnaye's Vanga
and the recently-discovered Red-shouldered Vanga
occur in subarid thorn scrub
in the south-west.
and Lafresnaye's Vanga tend to forage alone. Vangas have a variety of different foraging strategies. Many species glean
food as they move through the branches. The Nuthatch Vanga climbs up trunks and branches like a nuthatch
but does not climb downwards as nuthatches do. Crossley's Babbler forages by walking along the forest floor amongst the leaf litter. Chabert's Vanga and the Tylas Vanga often fly into the air to catch prey. The three Xenopirostris
vangas use their laterally flattened bills to strip bark off trees to search for food underneath.
Most species nest in pairs, building cup-shaped nests using twigs, bark, roots and leaves. The Sickle-billed Vanga nests in groups and builds a large nest of sticks.
which can survive in secondary woodland and plantations of introduced trees. Several other species are threatened by loss of their forest habitat. Pollen's Vanga
is classed as Near-threatened by BirdLife International
and the Red-shouldered Vanga, Bernier's Vanga, Helmet Vanga and Red-tailed Newtonia
are regarded as Vulnerable
. Van Dam's Vanga is classed as Endangered
because it is restricted to a small area of north-west Madagascar where the forest is rapidly disappearing due to clearance for agriculture and uncontrolled bushfires. Bluntschli's Vanga
is known only from two old specimens and is classed as Data Deficient
.
FAMILY: VANGIDAE
Genus: Schetba
Genus: Vanga
Genus: Xenopirostris
Genys: Falculea
Genus: Artamella
Genus: Leptopterus
Genus: Cyanolanius
Genus: Oriolia
Genus: Euryceros
Genus: Tylas
Genus: Hypositta
Bluntschli's Vanga
or Short-toed Nuthatch-vanga, Hypositta perdita - taxonomic status questionable.
Genus: Newtonia
Genus: Mystacornis
Genus: Pseudobias
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s restricted to Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and the Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
. They are usually classified as the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Vangidae. There are about 22 species, depending on taxonomy. Most species are shrike-like
Shrike
Shrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of thirty-one species in three genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes were also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits...
, arboreal forest birds, feeding on reptiles, frogs and insects. Several other Madagascan birds more similar to Old World warbler
Old World warbler
The "Old World Warblers" is the name used to describe a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the cisticolas into...
s, Old World babbler
Old World babbler
The Old World babblers or timaliids are a large family of mostly Old World passerine birds. They are rather diverse in size and coloration, but are characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent...
s or Old world flycatcher
Old World flycatcher
The Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae is a large family of small passerine birds mostly restricted to the Old World. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing.-Characteristics:...
s are now often placed in this family. Vangas differ greatly in bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
shape and have a variety of foraging methods. Their stick nests
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
are built in trees. They do not migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
.
Taxonomy
Their relationship with other passerine groups is uncertain, but they seem closely related to some enigmatic African groups: the helmetshrikeHelmetshrike
The helmetshrikes are smallish passerine bird species. These birds were included with the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, later on split between several presumably closely related groups such as bushshrikes and cuckoo-shrikes , but are now considered sufficiently distinctive to be separated...
s (Prionops) and the shrike-flycatchers (Bias
Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher
The Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher , also known as the Black-and-white Flycatcher or Vanga Flycatcher, is a species of passerine bird found in Africa...
and Megabyas). They also appear to be close to some Asian groups: the woodshrikes (Tephrodornis), flycatcher-shrike
Flycatcher-shrike
The flycatcher-shrikes are two species of small Asian passerine bird belonging to the genus Hemipus. They are traditionally placed in the cuckoo-shrike family, Campephagidae...
s (Hemipus) and philentoma
Philentoma
Philentoma is an enigmatic genus of birds. They were included in the Muscicapidae when these were used as a "wastebin taxon" mainly for lack of a better idea, but have recently been recognized as part of a "shrike"-like group...
s.
Though vangas were traditionally believed to be a small family of generally shrike-like birds, recent research suggests that several Madagascan taxa most similar in appearance and habits (and formerly considered to be) Old World warblers, Old World flycatchers or Old World babblers may be vangas. Yamagishi et al. found in 2001 that the newtonias
Newtonia (bird)
Newtonia is a genus of passerine birds containing four species. They were formerly classified in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae or Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae but have recently been shown to belong to the vanga family Vangidae....
appeared to belong with the vangas rather than the warblers and also that the Tylas was a vanga and not a bulbul
Bulbul
Bulbuls are a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds. Many forest species are known as greenbuls. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical Asia to Indonesia, and north as far as Japan. A few insular species occur on the tropical islands...
. It also appears that Ward's Flycatcher
Ward's Flycatcher
The Ward's Flycatcher , also known as Ward's Flycatcher-vanga is a species of bird in the Vangidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Pseudobias. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . ...
and Crossley's Babbler
Crossley's Babbler
The Crossley's Vanga , also known as Crossley's Babbler-vanga, Crossley's Babbler, or Madagascar Groundjumper, is a bird species in the family Vangidae. It is in the monotypic genus Mystacornis. The species was once placed in the Old World babbler family Timaliidae and its position with the vangas...
belong with the vangas.
Description
The vangas are an example of adaptive radiationAdaptive radiation
In evolutionary biology, adaptive radiation is the evolution of ecological and phenotypic diversity within a rapidly multiplying lineage. Starting with a recent single ancestor, this process results in the speciation and phenotypic adaptation of an array of species exhibiting different...
, having evolved from a single founding population into a variety of forms adapted to various niches
Ecological niche
In ecology, a niche is a term describing the relational position of a species or population in its ecosystem to each other; e.g. a dolphin could potentially be in another ecological niche from one that travels in a different pod if the members of these pods utilize significantly different food...
occupied by other bird families in other parts of the world. They differ in size, colour and bill shape but are similar in skull
Skull
The skull is a bony structure in the head of many animals that supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.The skull is composed of two parts: the cranium and the mandible. A skull without a mandible is only a cranium. Animals that have skulls are called craniates...
shape and bony palate structure. They are small to medium-sized birds, varying from 12 to 32 cm in length. Many have strong, hooked bills similar to those of shrikes. The Helmet Vanga
Helmet Vanga
The Helmet VangaEuryceros prevostii is a distinctive-looking bird of the vanga family, Vangidae, and is classified in its own genus Euryceros. It is mainly blue-black in colour, with rufous wings and a huge arched blue bill. It is restricted to lowland and lower montane rainforests of northeastern...
has a particularly large bill with a casque
Casque
Casque can refer to:* French word for helmet* An enlargement on the upper mandible of the bill of some species of birds, including many hornbills*Hornbill ivory: the casque of the Helmeted Hornbill, collected as a decorative material...
on top. Other species, such as the newtonias, have a small, thin bill. The Sickle-billed Vanga
Sickle-billed Vanga
The Sickle-billed Vanga is a species of bird in the vanga family Vangidae. It is monotypic within the genus Falculea. It is endemic to Madagascar...
is notable for its long, curved bill used to probe into holes and cracks.
Most vangas are largely black, brown or grey above and white below. Exceptions include the blue and white Blue Vanga
Blue Vanga
The Blue Vanga is a bird species in the family Vangidae. It is in the monotypic genus Cyanolanius. The taxon comorensis, by most authorities considered a subspecies of the Blue Vanga, has occasionally been considered a separate species, the Comoro Blue Vanga .It is found in Comoros, Madagascar, and...
and the blue-grey Nuthatch Vanga
Nuthatch Vanga
The Nuthatch Vanga , also known as the Coral-billed Nuthatch-vanga and formerly as the Coral-billed Nuthatch, is a species of bird in the Vangidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar....
. The Helmet Vanga is mostly black with a rufous back. Male Bernier's Vanga
Bernier's Vanga
The Bernier's Vanga is a bird species in the family Vangidae. It is in the monotypic genus Oriolia. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 26...
s are entirely black while the females are brown. It is one of several species with distinct male and female plumage while in other species the sexes are identical.
Most vangas have whistling calls.
Distribution and habitat
All vangas are endemic to Madagascar apart from the Blue Vanga which also occurs in the Comoros on MohéliMohéli
Mohéli, also known as Mwali, is one of the three islands which make up the nation of Comoros. Mohéli is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is by far the smallest of the Comoros islands. Its population, as of 2006, is about 38,000. Its capital city is Fomboni...
island and, at least formerly, on Grande Comore
Grande Comore
Grande Comore is an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population as of 2006 is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, which is also the national capital...
. They are found throughout Madagascar, in a variety of forest and scrub habitats. Several species including Van Dam's Vanga
Van Dam's Vanga
The Van Dam's Vanga is a species of bird in the Vangidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
and Sickle-billed Vanga can be found in the dry deciduous forests
Madagascar dry deciduous forests
The Madagascar dry deciduous forests represent a tropical dry forest ecoregion generally situated in the western part of Madagascar. The area has high numbers of endemic plant and animal species but has suffered large-scale clearance for agriculture...
in the west of the island. Some such as Crossley's Babbler, Helmet Vanga and Bernier's Vanga are restricted to rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
in the east of the island. Lafresnaye's Vanga
Lafresnaye's Vanga
The Lafresnaye's Vanga is a species of bird in the Vangidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.-References:...
and the recently-discovered Red-shouldered Vanga
Red-shouldered Vanga
The Red-shouldered Vanga is a member of the vanga family endemic to south-west Madagascar.This species is notable for being the last species viewed by internationally renowned bird watcher Phoebe Snetsinger before her 1999 death in Madagascar.-Description:Like many of the vangas, this species is...
occur in subarid thorn scrub
Madagascar spiny thickets
The Madagascar spiny thickets is an ecoregion in Madagascar. The vegetation type is found on poor substrates with low, erratic winter rainfall. An estimated 14,000 to is covered with this habitat, all in the southwest of the country...
in the south-west.
Behaviour
Their diet can include insects, earthworms, millipedes, lizards and amphibians. The Blue Vanga and Chabert's Vanga occasionally eat fruit. Many species feed in small groups, often in mixed-species foraging flocks. The Hook-billed VangaHook-billed Vanga
The Hook-billed Vanga is a species of bird in the Vangidae family. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. ...
and Lafresnaye's Vanga tend to forage alone. Vangas have a variety of different foraging strategies. Many species glean
Gleaning (birds)
Gleaning is a term for a feeding strategy by birds in which they catch invertebrate prey, mainly arthropods, by plucking them from foliage or the ground, from crevices such as rock faces and under the eaves of houses, or even, as in the case of ticks and lice, from living animals. This behavior is...
food as they move through the branches. The Nuthatch Vanga climbs up trunks and branches like a nuthatch
Nuthatch
The nuthatches are a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs...
but does not climb downwards as nuthatches do. Crossley's Babbler forages by walking along the forest floor amongst the leaf litter. Chabert's Vanga and the Tylas Vanga often fly into the air to catch prey. The three Xenopirostris
Xenopirostris
Xenopirostris is a genus of birds in the Vangidae family. They are all endemic to Madagascar.It contains the following species:* Van Dam's Vanga * Pollen's Vanga...
vangas use their laterally flattened bills to strip bark off trees to search for food underneath.
Most species nest in pairs, building cup-shaped nests using twigs, bark, roots and leaves. The Sickle-billed Vanga nests in groups and builds a large nest of sticks.
Status and conservation
Some species of vanga are common such as Chabert's VangaChabert's Vanga
The Chabert Vanga , also erroneously called "Chabert's Vanga", is a species of bird in the Vangidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Leptopterus. It is endemic to Madagascar...
which can survive in secondary woodland and plantations of introduced trees. Several other species are threatened by loss of their forest habitat. Pollen's Vanga
Pollen's Vanga
The Pollen's Vanga is a species of bird in the Vangidae family. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . ...
is classed as Near-threatened by BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
and the Red-shouldered Vanga, Bernier's Vanga, Helmet Vanga and Red-tailed Newtonia
Red-tailed Newtonia
The Red-tailed Newtonia is a species of bird in the Vangidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
are regarded as Vulnerable
Vulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
. Van Dam's Vanga is classed as Endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
because it is restricted to a small area of north-west Madagascar where the forest is rapidly disappearing due to clearance for agriculture and uncontrolled bushfires. Bluntschli's Vanga
Bluntschli's Vanga
The Bluntschli's Vanga , also known as the Short-toed Nuthatch-vanga, is a species of bird in the Vangidae family. It is endemic to Madagascar. It is only known from two juvenile specimens collected in 1931...
is known only from two old specimens and is classed as Data Deficient
Data Deficient
Data Deficient is a category applied by the IUCN, other agencies, and individuals to a species when the available information is not sufficient for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made...
.
Species list
- Genus: Calicalicus
- Red-tailed VangaRed-tailed VangaThe Red-tailed Vanga is a species of bird in the Vangidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
,
- Red-tailed Vanga
- Red-shouldered VangaRed-shouldered VangaThe Red-shouldered Vanga is a member of the vanga family endemic to south-west Madagascar.This species is notable for being the last species viewed by internationally renowned bird watcher Phoebe Snetsinger before her 1999 death in Madagascar.-Description:Like many of the vangas, this species is...
, Calicalicus rufocarpalis
- Rufous VangaRufous VangaThe Rufous Vanga is a species of bird in the Vangidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Schetba. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . ...
, Schetba rufa
- Hook-billed VangaHook-billed VangaThe Hook-billed Vanga is a species of bird in the Vangidae family. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. ...
,
- Lafresnaye's VangaLafresnaye's VangaThe Lafresnaye's Vanga is a species of bird in the Vangidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.-References:...
, Xenopirostris xenopirostris - Van Dam's VangaVan Dam's VangaThe Van Dam's Vanga is a species of bird in the Vangidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
, Xenopirostris damii - Pollen's VangaPollen's VangaThe Pollen's Vanga is a species of bird in the Vangidae family. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . ...
, Xenopirostris polleni
- Sickle-billed VangaSickle-billed VangaThe Sickle-billed Vanga is a species of bird in the vanga family Vangidae. It is monotypic within the genus Falculea. It is endemic to Madagascar...
,
- White-headed VangaWhite-headed VangaThe White-headed Vanga is a species of bird in the Vangidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Artamella. It is endemic to Madagascar....
, Artamella viridis
- Chabert's VangaChabert's VangaThe Chabert Vanga , also erroneously called "Chabert's Vanga", is a species of bird in the Vangidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Leptopterus. It is endemic to Madagascar...
, Leptopterus chabert
- Blue VangaBlue VangaThe Blue Vanga is a bird species in the family Vangidae. It is in the monotypic genus Cyanolanius. The taxon comorensis, by most authorities considered a subspecies of the Blue Vanga, has occasionally been considered a separate species, the Comoro Blue Vanga .It is found in Comoros, Madagascar, and...
, Cyanolanius madagascarinus- Comoro Blue Vanga, Cyanolanius (madagascarinus) comorensis.
- Bernier's VangaBernier's VangaThe Bernier's Vanga is a bird species in the family Vangidae. It is in the monotypic genus Oriolia. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 26...
, Oriolia bernieri
- Helmet VangaHelmet VangaThe Helmet VangaEuryceros prevostii is a distinctive-looking bird of the vanga family, Vangidae, and is classified in its own genus Euryceros. It is mainly blue-black in colour, with rufous wings and a huge arched blue bill. It is restricted to lowland and lower montane rainforests of northeastern...
,
- Tylas VangaTylas VangaThe Tylas Vanga is a species of bird in the Vangidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Tylas. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . ...
, Tylas eduardi
- Nuthatch VangaNuthatch VangaThe Nuthatch Vanga , also known as the Coral-billed Nuthatch-vanga and formerly as the Coral-billed Nuthatch, is a species of bird in the Vangidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar....
or Coral-billed Nuthatch-vanga,
Bluntschli's Vanga
The Bluntschli's Vanga , also known as the Short-toed Nuthatch-vanga, is a species of bird in the Vangidae family. It is endemic to Madagascar. It is only known from two juvenile specimens collected in 1931...
or Short-toed Nuthatch-vanga, Hypositta perdita - taxonomic status questionable.
- Dark NewtoniaDark NewtoniaThe Dark Newtonia is a species of bird in the Vangidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
, Newtonia amphichroa - Common NewtoniaCommon NewtoniaThe Common Newtonia is a species of bird in the Vangidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests....
, Newtonia brunneicauda - Archbold's NewtoniaArchbold's NewtoniaThe Archbold's Newtonia is a species of bird in the Vangidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.-References:...
, Newtonia archboldi - Red-tailed NewtoniaRed-tailed NewtoniaThe Red-tailed Newtonia is a species of bird in the Vangidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
, Newtonia fanovanae
- Crossley's BabblerCrossley's BabblerThe Crossley's Vanga , also known as Crossley's Babbler-vanga, Crossley's Babbler, or Madagascar Groundjumper, is a bird species in the family Vangidae. It is in the monotypic genus Mystacornis. The species was once placed in the Old World babbler family Timaliidae and its position with the vangas...
,
- Ward's FlycatcherWard's FlycatcherThe Ward's Flycatcher , also known as Ward's Flycatcher-vanga is a species of bird in the Vangidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Pseudobias. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . ...
, Pseudobias wardi
External links
- Vanga videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Vangas, Bird Families of the World