The chabert vanga (''Leptopterus chabert''), also erroneously called "Chabert's vanga", is a species of bird in the family Vangidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Leptopterus''. The chabert vanga is the smallest bird in the vanga family when compared to the white-headed vanga and the blue vanga. Their biometrics are typically 14 centimeters in length and their weight ranges from 17 to 26.5 grams.

Habitat

The chabert vanga is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are

subtropical or tropical dry forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discont ...

, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. They tend to reside on sea level and up to 1000m. Very occasionally they are found higher than 1000m above sea level.

Vocalizations

The chabert vanga's name comes from a rendition of its call. Their calls tend to repeat every two to three seconds making the sound “teedee” or a “tse tse tse” when trying to communicate.

Diet

They feed on insects such as;

beetles Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

, cockroaches, and worms. Also, they have been found to eat small vertebrates such as chameleons and some small berries.

Description

The cabaret vanga only possess two colors, black and white. Their head and wings are a dark black. However, due to the sun, this black can often be seen as having a shiny blue tint to it. Their underparts are white like their chin and belly. The color of their tails differ from where they originate. If they are located in the southwest, the tail of the chabert vanga has a white patch at the base of the tail. If they are from anywhere else in the world, the whole entire tail of the chabert vanga is known to be black. The bill is a light blue color and their eyes also resemble a turquoise or cobalt blue. The juvenile of the cabaret vanga resembles the adult however, it lacks the blue eyes. The juveniles tend to look a shade paler due to the white streaks and white fingers on their back and wing feathers. The white streaks tend to fade as they grow older. There is little physical difference between the male and female chabert vanga.

Subspecies

''Leptopterus chabert chaber'' is found in west, north, and eastern Madagascar. ''Leptopterus chabert schistocercus'' is found in southwest Madagascar.

Status

Cabert vangas are not currently globally threatened. They are fairly common throughout their range in the Madagascar and surrounding areas. They are less common in more

humid Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depen ...

areas and dense forests. The chabert vanga is most commonly spotted at the edge of forests and dense tree populations. They are constantly moving and migrating. They are typically found in

flocks Flocking is the behaviour exhibited when a group of birds, called a flock, are foraging or in flight. Computer simulations and mathematical models that have been developed to emulate the flocking behaviours of birds can also generally be applie ...

rather than individually seen.

References

chabert vanga The chabert vanga (''Leptopterus chabert''), also erroneously called "Chabert's vanga", is a species of bird in the family Vangidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Leptopterus''. The chabert vanga is the smallest bird in the vanga family whe ...

Endemic birds of Madagascar

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Vangidae-stub