- Cyanolanius comorensis
Identification
16-19 cm.
- Upperside blue
- Black lores and surroundings of eye
- Flight-feathers blackish
- Tail with seemingly black terminal band
- Underside white
- Bill medium blue with dark tip
- Eye light blue
Female: differs in having underside washed with light orange, and in having supercilium and ear coverts flecked in white.
Distribution
Indian Ocean: Comoro Islands, Mohéli and at least formerly, Grand Comoro Island (possibly extinct).
Taxonomy
Formerly considered the same species as Madagascar Blue Vanga under the name of "Blue Vanga".
Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized[1]:
- C. c. comorensis:
- Mohéli (Comoro Islands)
- C. c. bensoni:
- Grand Comoro Island; possibly extinct
Habitat
Found in all types of woodland. Rarer at sea level than higher up.
Behaviour
Eats both invertebrates and some fruit, with caterpillars seemingly the most important food item.
Vocalisation
Variable. Gives a "coarse frog-like croak” as well as a song that has the character of a grating rattle.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Kirwan, G. M., S. Yamagishi, J. del Hoyo, N. Collar, and M. Nakamura (2022). Comoros Blue Vanga (Cyanolanius comorensis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (P. G. Rodewald, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bluvan2.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Comoro Blue Vanga. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 16 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Comoro_Blue_Vanga
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
