Alternative names: Sicklebill; Falcule
- Falculea palliata
Identification
32cm (12½ in). The largest vanga.
- Exceptionally long, strongly decurved bill
- White head, neck, chin, throat and underparts
- Black upperparts with blue sheen
- White rump
- Black upperwing and tail
- Sturdy, dark grey to pale blue legs
Sexes similar.
Juveniles are similar to adults but the black back and the wing feathers are tipped with buff.
Distribution
Endemic to north, west and south Madagascar.
Common to fairly common in its range.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Dry forests and dry shrubland. Also in savanna and wooded area around settlements. Occurs from sea-level up to 900m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on invertebrates (like spiders, cockroaches, crickets, grasshoppers, beetles or worms) and small vertebrates (such as geckos).
The long bill is used probing into holes and crevices in trunks of live and dead trees.
Breeding
A gregarious species, especially outside breeding-season when seen in flocks of up to 30 or more birds. Often in mixed-species flocks with White-headed Vanga and Crested Drongo.
Breeding season from October to January. A polyandrous species, more than two males copulate with one female and all birds feed the young. The nest is a cup made of twigs. It's placed 9 - 16m above the ground in a tree fork. Lays 3 - 4 eggs.
Movements
A sedentary species.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Sickle-billed Vanga. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Sickle-billed_Vanga
