Crossley's Vanga - BirdForum Opus

Alternative names: Crossley's Babbler, Madagascar Groundhunter

Photo by edenwatcher
Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar, September 2010

Mystacornis crossleyi

Identification

With 15 - 16cm a small passerine, babbler-like in apperance but not a Babbler¹:

• Olive-brown above
• Greyish below
• Long, narrow bill with a slight hook at the tip
• Male with a olive-brown and grey crown, black eye-stripe and ear-coverts, white submoustachial stripe and black throat and chin
• Female has only slightly blackish ear-coverts and a whitish throat and chin

Distribution

Endemic to eastern Madagascar. Fairly common there.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.^{1, 2}
This bird has formerly been placed in the family Timaliidae (Babblers). However recent studies have confirmed the proposed placement in the Vangidae.^1,3

Habitat

Broadleaf evergreen forest, also guava forest. Occurs from sea-level up to 1800m.¹

Behaviour

Usually seen singly or in pairs. Only rarely seen in flight.

Diet

Feeds on spiders, ants and other insects. Forages on the ground among leaf-litter, probing with its bill for food.

Breeding

Breeding season from August to November. The nest is a shallow cup mady by large twigs, placed about 1.5m above the ground in a small tree.

Resident, no movements known.¹

References

1. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2007. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553422
2. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
3. Johansson, U.S., Bowie, R.C.K., Hackett, S.J. & Schulenberg, T.S. (in press). The phylogenetic affinities of Crossley's Babbler (Mystacornis crossleyi): adding a new niche to the vanga radiation of Madagascar. Biology Letters.

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Crossley's Vanga. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 May 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Crossley%27s_Vanga

External Links

Search for photos of Crossley's Vanga in the gallery