Helmetshrikes
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The helmetshrikes are smallish passerine bird species. 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 Prionopidae.
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.
- Family: Prionopidae
- White Helmetshrike, Prionops plumatus : The White Helmetshrike is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, moist savanna, and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
- Grey-crested Helmetshrike, Prionops poliolophus : The Grey-crested Helmet-shrike is found in Kenya and Tanzania. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss.
- Yellow-crested Helmetshrike, Prionops alberti : The Yellow-crested Helmet-shrike is endemic to Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes. It is threatened by habitat loss.
- Chestnut-bellied Helmetshrike, Prionops caniceps : The Chestnut-bellied Helmetshrike is found in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland.
- Retz's Helmetshrike, Prionops retzii : The Retz's Helmetshrike is found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland.
- Angola Helmetshrike, Prionops gabela : The Gabela Helmet-shrike (Prionops gabela) is endemic to Angola. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
- Chestnut-fronted Helmetshrike, Prionops scopifrons : The Chestnut-fronted Helmetshrike is found in Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland found around the equator.
- Large Woodshrike, Tephrodornis gularis : The Large Woodshrike is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montanes.
Common Woodshrike, Tephrodornis pondicerianus : The Common Woodshrike is a species of helmetshrike found in South Asia.- Rufous-winged Philentoma, Philentoma pyrhopterum : The Rufous-winged Philentoma is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
- Maroon-breasted Philentoma Philentoma velatum : The Maroon-breasted Philentoma is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical swamps. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org
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