The helmet vanga (''Euryceros prevostii'') is a distinctive-looking bird of the

vanga The family Vangidae (from ''vanga'', 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 ...

family, Vangidae, and is classified in its own genus, ''Euryceros''. It is mainly blue-black, with rufous wings and a huge arched blue bill. It is restricted to lowland and lower montane rainforests of northeastern Madagascar. Its diet is composed of invertebrates, predominantly insects. The species is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Taxonomy

The helmet vanga is the only member of the genus ''Euryceros''. Like most vangas it was originally placed in the shrike family, Laniidae. When the ornithologist

Austin L. Rand Austin Loomer Rand (16 December 1905 – 6 November 1982) was a Canadian zoologist. He was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia in 1905 and grew up in nearby Wolfville, where he was mentored by the noted local ornithologist Robie W. Tufts. He received a ...

moved the majority of the vangas into a separate family in 1936, he placed the helmet vanga in its own monotypic family, Eurycerotidae. It was moved to the vanga family by J. Dorst in 1960. The closest relative within the family is believed to be the

rufous vanga The rufous vanga (''Schetba rufa'') is a species of bird in the family Vangidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Schetba''. It is endemic to Madagascar, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tr ...

, which is thought to have split from the helmet vanga 800,000 years ago. The specific name ''prevostii'' commemorates the French artist

Florent Prévost Florent Prévost (1794 – 1 February 1870) was a French naturalist and illustrator. Prévost was assistant naturalist at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. He was the author of various zoological works, including ''Les Pigeons par Madame ...

Description

The helmet vanga is a large vanga, the second-largest species of vanga after the

sickle-billed vanga The sickle-billed vanga (''Falculea palliata'') is a species of bird in the vanga family Vangidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Falculea''. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are tropical dry forests and tropical dry sh ...

. In length it measures , and it weighs . The most distinctive feature is the massive hooked bill, which is long and deep. The plumage of the head, neck, throat, breast and belly is a solid blue-black, as are the primary coverts and remiges of the wing. The mantle, the back, and the rest of the wings are rufous. The tail, which is long and broad, is black below and rufous above. The bill is bright blue with a black tip. Both sexes are alike.

Distribution and habitat

It is restricted to lowland and lower montane rainforests in north-eastern

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. Sites where it can be found include

Marojejy National Park Marojejy National Park () is a national park in the Sava region of northeastern Madagascar. It covers and is centered on the Marojejy Massif, a mountain chain that rises to an elevation of . Access to the area around the massif was restricted t ...

, Makira Natural Park, the

Masoala National Park Masoala National Park, in northeast Madagascar, is the largest of the island's protected areas. Most of the park is situated in Sava Region and a part in Analanjirofo. Created in 1997, the park protects 2,300 square kilometres of rainforest and ...

and Mantadia National Park.

Behaviour

Adults mainly eat large insects, but food items brought to young in the nest may be more varied, including snails, lizards, spiders and crabs.

Breeding

Helmet vangas are monogamous and seasonal breeders. The breeding season runs from October to January on the Masoala Peninsula. Both sexes work on the construction of the nest, which is a cup shape in diameter constructed from woven plant fibres, mosses and twigs, and is placed in a fork in a tree off the ground. There is one record of courtship feeding by a male before copulation. The clutch size is two or three pinkish white eggs.

Threats and conservation

The helmet vanga is considered to be threatened with extinction due to

. The species is restricted to undisturbed humid rainforest, and this habitat is increasingly being cleared for agriculture and forestry. Their population, between 6000-15000 mature individuals, is becoming increasingly fragmented. Ecological modelling suggests that much of their remaining habitat will be lost in 50 years due to

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

. Because of these issues the species has been listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.

Gallery

File:EurycerosPrevostiiSkeleton.jpg, left, Skeleton of helmet vanga File:Helmet Vanga 02.jpg, left, Helmet vanga on nest, showing the massive bill File:Helmet Vanga 05.jpg, left, Feeding three chicks in the nest

References

External links

*ARKive
images and movies of the helmet vanga ''(Euryceros prevostii)''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1194048 helmet vanga Endemic birds of Madagascar helmet vanga Taxa named by René Lesson