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Bushshrike
The bushshrikes are smallish passerine birds. They were formerly classed with the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, but are now considered sufficiently distinctive to be separated from that group as the family Malaconotidae, a name that alludes to their fluffy back and rump feathers. Like their shrike-like relatives, the helmetshrikes, the bushshrikes have arisen in Africa in relatively recent times. The family is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa but completely absent from Madagascar, where the vangas are their closest relatives. They are found in scrub or open woodland, and less often in marshes, Afromontane or tropical forest. They are similar in habits to shrikes, hunting insects and other small prey from a perch on a bush. Although similar in build to the shrikes, these tend to be either colourful species or largely black; some species are quite secretive. Some bushshrikes have flamboyant displays. The male puffbacks puff out the loose feathers on their rump and lower back ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chlorophoneus
''Chlorophoneus'' is a genus of bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ... in the bushshrike family, Malaconotidae. Extant Species It contains the following species: References *Lack, Peter (2007) ABC African Checklist'. Downloaded 18/09/07. Bird genera Taxa named by Jean Cabanis {{Malaconotidae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malaconotus
''Malaconotus'' is a genus of passerine birds in the bush-shrike family Malaconotidae, which is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. Their Greek generic name suggests fluffy back and rump feathers. Description All are large-bodied with robust legs and feet, and formidable shrike-like bills. As in other Malacotini, the upper mandible (maxilla) has a subterminal tooth, opposing a notch on the lower mandible. Both nasal and rictal bristles are present, and they are unique in their family in having syndactyl feet (3rd and 4th digits fused). They have 10 primaries and 12 rectrices like others of their family. The sexes are similar in appearance, but have dissimilar calls. Habits They form monogamous pairs that live fairly sedentary in woodlands or tropical forest. They are very vocal, but their duetting is poorly developed compared to the related genus '' Telophorus''. Their displays include bill-snapping, a habit shared with helmetshrikes (and some vangas of Madagascar), which however ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laniarius
''Laniarius'' is a genus of brightly coloured, carnivorous passerine birds commonly known as boubous or gonoleks. Not to be confused with the similar-sounding genus ''Lanius'', they were formerly classed with the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, but they and related genera are now considered sufficiently distinctive to be separated from that group as the bush-shrike family Malaconotidae. This is an African group of species which are found in scrub or open woodland. They are similar in habits to shrikes, hunting insects and other small prey from a perch on a bush. Although similar in build to the shrikes, these tend to be either colourful species or largely black. Some species are also quite secretive. Taxonomy and systematics The genus ''Laniarius'' was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1816 with the yellow-crowned gonolek as the type species. The closest relatives of the genus appear to be the genus ''Chlorophoneus''. Previously, membe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Telophorus
''Telophorus'' is a genus of bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ... in the bushshrike family, Malaconotidae. Extant Species It contains the following species: References *Lack, Peter (2007) ABC African Checklist'. Downloaded 18/09/07. Bird genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Malaconotidae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dryoscopus
''Dryoscopus'' is a genus of bird in the Malaconotidae or bushshrike family. Its members are known as puffbacks. The six species, all of fairly uniform appearance and habits, are native to various parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The name ''Dryoscopus'' is a compound Greek word: ''drus'' from the Greek word for "tree" and ''skopos'', meaning "watcher or lookout". Structure and habits Puffbacks are small, active bushshrikes that show a superficial resemblance to boubous. They however display only rudimentary duetting, have red or reddish irides, are smaller and compact with bouncy flight, and display sexual dimorphism. Characteristically, the long, loose and pale feathers of the male bird's back and rump are puffed out conspicuously during display. At the same time he may fly about, calling loudly. Comparable habits are found in some related genera (cf. '' Bocagia'', ''Bias'', '' Lanioturdus'', '' Batis'' and '' Dyaphorophyia''). They move about in pairs in the upper strata of tre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow-crowned Gonolek
The yellow-crowned gonolek (''Laniarius barbarus''), also known as the common gonolek, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the bushshrike family. It is a common resident breeding bird in equatorial Africa from Senegal and Democratic Republic of Congo east to Ethiopia. It is a skulking bird and frequents dense undergrowth in forests and other wooded habitats. The nest is a cup structure in a bush or tree in which two eggs are laid. Taxonomy In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the yellow-crowned gonolek in his ''Ornithologie'' based on a specimen collected in Senegal. He used the French name ''La pie-griesche rouge du Sénégal'' and the Latin ''Lanius Senegalensis ruber''. The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shrike
Shrikes () are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of 34 species in four genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, '' Lanius'', is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also known as butcherbirds because of their feeding habits. The common English name shrike is from Old English , alluding to the shrike's shriek-like call. Distribution, migration, and habitat Most shrike species have a Eurasian and African distribution, with just two breeding in North America (the loggerhead and northern shrikes). No members of this family occur in South America or Australia, although one species reaches New Guinea. The shrikes vary in the extent of their ranges, with some species, such as the great grey shrike, ranging across the Northern Hemisphere; to the Newton's fiscal, which is restricted to the island of São Tomé. They inhabit open habitats, especially steppe and savannah. A few species of shrikes are forest dweller ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brubru
The brubru (''Nilaus afer'') is a species of bushshrike (family Malaconotidae) found in most of Sub-Saharan Africa. It is the only member of the genus ''Nilaus''. Distribution and habitat Its habitat is dry open woodland, but varies geographically. The six northern races and the subspecies ''N. a. Brubru'' of southern Africa are found in acacia and broadleaved woodland, whereas the three subspecies in a belt from northeastern Angola and northern Namibia east to Tanzania and northern Mozambique occur in '' Brachystegia'' miombo woodland. Description The brubru is a small passerine, 12–15 cm long. The adult male of the nominate subspecies, ''N. a. afer'', has a black crown, white supercilium and forehead, and black eyestripe. The back is black with a tawny strip, the rump is mottled black, and the tail is black with white tips and edges to the outer feathers. The wings are black with a buff shoulder stripe. The underparts are white with rufous flanks. The female is dull ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tchagra
The tchagras are passerine birds in the bushshrike family, which are closely related to the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, and were once included in that group. Description These are long-tailed birds, typically with a grey or grey-brown back, brown wings and grey and whitish underparts. The head pattern is distinctive, with a dark cap and black eyestripe separated by a white supercilium. The bill is strong and hooked. The male and female are similar in plumage in all tchagra species, but distinguishable from immature birds. These are solitary birds which tend to skulk low down or on the ground. They have distinctive whistled calls and can be readily tempted into sight by imitating the call, presumably because the tchagra is concerned that there is an intruder in its territory. These are species typically of scrub, open woodland, semi-desert and cultivation in sub- Saharan Africa. They hunt large insects from a low perch in a bush, and the larger species like black ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malaconotoidea
__NOTOC__ Malaconotoidea is a superfamily of passerine birds. They contain a vast diversity of omnivorous and carnivorous songbirds widespread in Africa and Australia, many of which superficially resemble shrikes. It was defined and named by Cacraft and colleagues in 2004 and contains the bushshrikes (Malaconotidae), helmetshrikes (Prionopidae), ioras (Aegithinidae), vangas (Vangidae) and the Australian butcherbirds, magpies, currawongs and woodswallows (Artamidae). Molecular analysis in 2006 added the Bornean bristlehead to the group, though its position in the Malconotoidea is unclear. It was initially thought related to the butcherbirds and woodswallows but now is thought to be an early offshoot. In 2012, Jerome Fuchs and colleagues extensively analysed the Malaconotoidea (called by them Malaconotidea), using both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. The resulting tree suggested that the group originated in Australasia and prolifically diversified in Africa after an ancestor cross ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helmetshrike
Helmetshrikes are a family uniting some smallish to mid-sized songbird species. They were 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 shrike-like birds are increasin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platysteiridae
Platysteiridae is a family of small, stout passerine birds of the African tropics. The family contains the wattle-eyes, batises and shrike-flycatchers. They were previously classed as a subfamily of the Old World flycatchers, Muscicapidae. These insect-eating birds are usually found in open forests or bush. They hunt by flycatching, or by taking prey from the ground like a shrike. The nest is a small, neat cup, placed low in a tree or bush. Distribution and habitat The Platysteiridae are arboreal birds, primarily of the woodlands and forests of sub-Saharan Africa. The family is restricted to mainland Africa and its offshore islands. The shrike-flycatchers and genus ''Dyaphorophyia'' are inhabitants of dense forest, while the rest of the wattle-eyes are found in woodland, and the batises range across all wooded habitats except the densest forests of the Congo Basin. The pririt and pygmy batis survive in very arid environments with some cover, and the white-fronted wattle-eye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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