Glasses strangler

Glasses strangler
White-headed shrike ( Prionops plumatus )
Systematics
Subclass : New-jawed birds (Neognathae) Order : Passerines (Passeriformes) Subordination : Songbirds (passeri) Superfamily : Corvoidea Family : Vanga shrike (Vangidae) Subfamily : Glasses strangler
Scientific name
Prionopinae
Swainson , 1824

The spectacled shrike (Prionopinae) are a subfamily of the family of the Vangawurger in the order of the passerine birds (Passeriformes). In the past they were assigned to the stranglers (Laniidae), or run as a separate family Prionopidae.

features

Spectacle stranglers reach a body length of 18 to 25 cm. The wings have 10 wings and the tail 12 control feathers . The black or red beaks are, similar to the stranglers, hooked and notched at the tip. Legs and feet are strong, the claws sharp, the tarsi are scaly on both sides and on the front . Most species have special head feathers ( hoods ) and conspicuously colored skin flaps around the eyes. The stiff forehead feathers protrude forward and cover the nostrils.

distribution

Spectacled shrike of the genera Prionops , Megabyas and Bias are afrotropic in Africa , i.e. spread south of the Sahara . The species of the other genera are common in southern Asia.

Way of life

Glass shrike are very sociable and occur in groups of 6 to 12 or more animals all year round. Insects are collected from foliage or hunted in the air and on the ground. They build shallow, cup-shaped nests on horizontal branches, in tree forks or in the thicket two to seven meters above the ground. The clutch usually consists of three or four eggs, the incubation period is 12 to 14 days, the nestling period 16 to 20 days. The long breeding season overlaps both dry and rainy seasons.

Genera and species

According to the Handbook of the Birds of the World , the following six genera with 18 species are assigned to the subfamily.

• Prionops
  • Yellow-headed shrike ( Prionops alberti )
  • Rust-bellied spectacled shrike ( Prionops caniceps )
  • Angola Shrike ( Prionops gabela )
  • White-headed spectacled shrike ( Prionops plumatus )
  • Gray-headed spectacled shrike ( Prionops poliolophus )
  • Tricolor spectacled shrike ( Prionops retzii )
  • Gabonese shrike ( Prionops rufiventris )
  • Brown end-helmetshrike ( Prionops scopifrons )

• Hempius
  • Magpie vanga ( Hempius picatus )
  • Sundaschnäppervanga ( Hempius hirundinaceus )

• Tephrodornis
  • Malabarvanga ( Tephrodornis sylvicola )
  • Forest vanga ( Tephrodornis virgatus )
  • Indienvanga ( Tephrodornis pondicerianus )
  • Ceylonvanga ( Tephrodornis affinis )

• Megabyas
  • Snapper vanga ( Megabyas flammulatus )

• Bias
  • Hooded vanga ( Bias musicus )

• Philentoma
  • Rustwing Vanga ( Philentoma pyrhoptera )
  • Brown breasted vanga ( Philentoma velata )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Batises, woodshrikes, bushshrikes & vangas. In: IOC World Bird List. Version 8.2 ( worldbirdnames.org )
2. ↑ ^{a b} Our Taxonomy . In: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, DA Christie & E. de Juana, E. (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive . Lynx Edicions, Barcelona ( hbw.com [accessed November 5, 2018]).
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Bruce Campbell, Elizabeth Lack: A Dictionary of Birds. Christopher Helm, 2011, ISBN 978-1-4081-3840-3 , p. 280.
4. ↑ Peter Hancock, Ingrid Weiersbye: Birds of Botswana. University Press Group, 2015, ISBN 978-0-691-15717-7 , p. 240.

Web links

Commons : Spectacled Shrike (Vangidae)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files