Elstervanga

Elstervanga
Elstervanga
Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes) Subordination : Songbirds (passeri) Family : Vanga shrike (Vangidae) Subfamily : Vanginae Genre : Leptopterus Type : Elstervanga
Scientific name of the  genus
Leptopterus
Bonaparte , 1854
Scientific name of the  species
Leptopterus chabs
( Statius Müller , 1776)

The Elstervanga ( Leptopterus chabert ) is a passerine bird from the family of the Vangawurger (Vangidae).

features

The Elstervanga is a small, 14 cm large, 17–27 g heavy bird. The wide, light blue eye ring is striking . The top is bluish-black, the beak bluish-white, the underside is white. There is hardly any difference between males and females, and young birds still lack the eye ring.

behavior

Magpie vangas feed on small and medium-sized insects , caterpillars, and beetles. They breed between August and March. The adult birds help each other in rearing their young. They look for food in the treetops and catch flying insects in the air.

distribution and habitat

The Elstervanga is endemic to Madagascar . It can be found in the tropical and subtropical dry forest , lowland forest and humid mountain forest mostly below 1600 m, often in larger schools.

The following subspecies can be distinguished:

• L. c. schistocercus ( Neumann , 1908) in southwest Madagascar
• L. c. chabert ( Statius Müller , 1776) ( nominate form ) in the other parts of Madagascar with white at the base of the outer tail feathers

Hazardous situation

The stock is not considered to be at risk ( least concern ).

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} F. Hawkins, R. Safford, A. Skerrett: Birds of Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands. Helm Field Guides, 2015, ISBN 978-1-4729-2409-4
2. ↑ ^{a b} Handbook of the Birds of the World
3. ↑ Leptopterus chabert in the Red List of Threatened Species of IUCN 2016-3. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2017.

Web links

Commons : Elstervanga ( Leptopterus chabert )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files