Silkworms

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Silkworms
Silkworm (Hypocolius ampelinus), male (left) and female

Silkworm ( Hypocolius ampelinus ), male (left) and female

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily : Bombycilloidea
Family : Hypocoliidae
Genre : Hypocolius
Type : Silkworms
Scientific name of the  family
Hypocoliidae
Delacour & Amadon , 1949
Scientific name of the  genus
Hypocolius
Bonaparte , 1850
Scientific name of the  species
Hypocolius ampelinus
Bonaparte , 1850

The silk strangler ( Hypocolius ampelinus ) even nightshade eater called, comes in Saudi Arabia, in northern Yemen, on the coast of the Persian Gulf southern Afghanistan and southern Pakistan, in eastern Iraq, in southern Iran, east to the Rann of Kutch in front. He is a rare winter visitor on the eastern Mediterranean coast. It was often assigned to the waxwings (Bombycillidae) but a phylogenetic study placed the bird species outside of a clade formed by the waxwings and the Central American silkcatchers (Ptiliogonatidae), so that it is now placed in an independent family, the Hypocoliidae.

features

Silkworms are medium-sized birds with cylindrical-oval bodies. The height is between 19 and 21 centimeters. They are predominantly gray-brown in color, with black and white areas on the wings. The females lack the male's black face mask. The tail feathers are black at the end. The head is medium in size, the neck is medium in length and thick. The beak is of medium length, straight and flattened. The wings are relatively short and rounded at the tips, the tail is long and rounded at the end. Legs and feet are short or small. Young birds have yellowish brown plumage. The black color is missing on the tail feathers.

Habitat and way of life

The berries of the toothbrush tree

Silkworms are found in deserts, arid bushland, savannahs, orchards and palm groves, mostly near watering points. They feed on fruits and prefer the berries of the toothbrush tree . They also eat u. a. Dates and mulberries . It is not known whether they also eat insects and other invertebrates. The birds are monogamous and breed in small, loose colonies that can contain up to 40 pairs. Each pair claims a small area around the nest. The large, bowl-shaped nest, which is usually hidden in thorny bushes or in the foliage of palm trees, is built by both old animals. The clutch consists of three to five eggs. Both parents participate in the breeding business and the rearing of the young. The breeding period is around 14 days and the young birds leave the nest after 13 to 14 days. The silk shrike is a resident bird or short-distance migrant . There is no precise information about its population, but it is not counted among the endangered bird species.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c David W. Winkler, Shawn M. Billerman, Irby J. Lovette: Bird Families of the World - An Invitation to the Spectacular Diversity of Birds. Lynx Edicions and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 2015, ISBN 978-84-941892-0-3 . Page 490.
  2. ↑ Hypocolius ampelinus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2019. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2018. Accessed March 11, 2020th

Web links

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