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Image of the Month May 2022: Hook-billed Vanga by David Hoddinott
PREVIOUS PAGEPhotographer: David Hoddinott Destination: Madagascar
The fourth largest island in the world and ecologically forgotten in time, Madagascar is home to some of the most unique biodiversity on the planet, with approximately 90 percent of all plant and animal life on this incredible island being endemic.
This month we take some time to focus on the extraordinary wildlife of Madagascar with particular attention on one of the islands most fascinating bird families - the vangas. The entire family currently involves 39 different species however this wasn’t always the case. Rewind to taxonomy from a few years ago and you will find just 21 species, with all being completely confined to Madagascar except for the Blue Vanga which is also found on the nearby Comoro Islands. Needless to say, the history of the vangas has been an ornithological puzzle of extreme proportions, and one that is likely to still chop and change as new genetic work continues, and our understanding of complex species is improved. These days groups of birds from mainland Africa such as the helmetshrikes and shrike-flycatchers and others from Asia such as woodshrikes, flycatcher-shrikes and philentomas are all lumped within the vangas & allies.
Madagascar is home to a fabulous 21 species of vanga and within this family are fascinating examples of adaptive radiation, having evolved from a single founding population into a variety of forms. The vangas occupy a variety of different niches that are typically filled by other bird families in different parts of the world.
This month we take some time to focus on the extraordinary wildlife of Madagascar with particular attention on one of the islands most fascinating bird families - the vangas. The entire family currently involves 39 different species however this wasn’t always the case. Rewind to taxonomy from a few years ago and you will find just 21 species, with all being completely confined to Madagascar except for the Blue Vanga which is also found on the nearby Comoro Islands. Needless to say, the history of the vangas has been an ornithological puzzle of extreme proportions, and one that is likely to still chop and change as new genetic work continues, and our understanding of complex species is improved. These days groups of birds from mainland Africa such as the helmetshrikes and shrike-flycatchers and others from Asia such as woodshrikes, flycatcher-shrikes and philentomas are all lumped within the vangas & allies.
Madagascar is home to a fabulous 21 species of vanga and within this family are fascinating examples of adaptive radiation, having evolved from a single founding population into a variety of forms. The vangas occupy a variety of different niches that are typically filled by other bird families in different parts of the world.
- The unique newtonias for example have small warbler-like bills and glean insects from leaves.
- The peculiar long, curved bill of the Sickle-billed Vanga reminds one of a scimitar-babbler from Asia or a wood hoopoe from Africa.
- The interesting Nuthatch Vanga is, as the name suggests, rather nuthatch like as it feeds by climbing along medium and large tree trunks in search of food on the bark.
- Our featured species is the Hook-billed Vanga and in this amazing image can be seen with an unidentified snake as its mate looks on. These Vangas are rather formidable predators with strong, hooked bills that are perfectly suited for catching large insects, small vertebrates and even medium sized chameleons! For anyone familiar with Africa’s bushshrikes this species bares a strong behavioral resemblance and even its song closely resembles the penetrating, long whistled note of a Grey-headed Bushshrike.
- The highly localized and uncommon Bernier’s Vanga is also somewhat like a large nuthatch or woodpecker/woodcreeper (of which there are none in Madagascar) as they strip dead bark and moss off branches searching for invertebrates.
- The Tylas Vanga is unique, being fairly large but feeding in the canopy and upper layer of shrubs much like a cuckooshrike.
- Many of the other species closely resemble shrikes such as the highly localized Van Dam’s Vanga, Pollen’s Vanga and the beautiful Rufous Vanga with hooked beaks.
- Others are a little more flycatcher like such as Chabert’s Vanga which make aerial sallies in pursuit of insects.
As if the vangas aren’t enough Madagascar currently has 4 endemic bird families – bernieridae warblers, asities, mesites and the incredible looking ground rollers! The unique Cuckoo-Roller is another endemic family to the region but not included in the 4 mentioned above as it is also found on the nearby Comoro Islands.
Madagascar is also home to a staggering 140 endemic and near-endemic birds! Combine the birding experience with the lemurs (Indri, sifakas and the cutest of them all, the delightful mouse lemurs), the unique tenrecs, Fosa (the largest predator on the island), snakes (of which not a single species is venomous), lizards and geckos including the astonishing camouflaged leaf-tailed geckos (Uroplatus), the crazy Giraffe-necked Weevil, incredible frogs including the brightly coloured Mantella’s, and over half the world’s chameleons, including the world’s largest – the Parson’s Chameleon at two-foot-long and the smallest – Brookesia nana, which was amazingly only discovered in 2021 and stretches the tape-measures at 1 Inch!
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Madagascar is also home to a staggering 140 endemic and near-endemic birds! Combine the birding experience with the lemurs (Indri, sifakas and the cutest of them all, the delightful mouse lemurs), the unique tenrecs, Fosa (the largest predator on the island), snakes (of which not a single species is venomous), lizards and geckos including the astonishing camouflaged leaf-tailed geckos (Uroplatus), the crazy Giraffe-necked Weevil, incredible frogs including the brightly coloured Mantella’s, and over half the world’s chameleons, including the world’s largest – the Parson’s Chameleon at two-foot-long and the smallest – Brookesia nana, which was amazingly only discovered in 2021 and stretches the tape-measures at 1 Inch!
Join Rockjumper today and discover more...
