Crossley's Vanga

Overview

Crossley's vanga (Mystacornis crossleyi), also known as the Madagascar groundhunter, is a small bird species in the family Vangidae. It is an example of convergent evolution, having developed physical traits similar to ground-babblers to suit its terrestrial lifestyle.

Identification

• Small babbler-like bird, 15 cm long and weighing around 25 g.
• Disproportionately long, slightly hooked olive-grey bill.
• Male plumage features an olive-green crown, back, wings, tail, and flanks, with a black throat and face, a white submoustachial stripe, and a grey stripe above the eye.
• Grey legs and a black iris.

Habitat

Endemic to eastern Madagascar, where it inhabits broadleaf forest from sea level up to 1800 m.

Diet

This terrestrial bird feeds on the ground on spiders, cockroaches, earwigs, true bugs, grasshoppers, and ants. It forages singly or in pairs by walking, running, and probing its bill into leaf litter, mosses, and soil, rarely taking flight.

Did you know?

Its bill and body shape evolved to resemble those of ground-babblers to such a degree that early naturalists initially classified it within the babbler family, Timaliidae.