Alternative names: White-crested Helmet-shrike, Helmet Shrike, Curly-crested Helmet-shrike, Long-crested Helmet Shrike.
- Prionops plumatus
Identification
19–25 cm (7½-9¾ in)
Erect whitish forecrown, grey hindcrown, black ear coverts and white collar; northern subspecies have a longer forward-curved crest.
Upperparts black with white wing bar (wing bar absent in some eastern subspecies) and underparts white.
The eye is yellow with yellow eye-wattles; legs pink
Distribution
Sub-Saharan Africa apart from the forested west, arid south west and cooler south.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Prionops plumatus has five subspecies:[1]
- P. p. plumatus
- P. p. concinnatus
- P. p. cristatus
- Eritrea, central and western Ethiopia, eastern South Sudan, eastern Uganda, and northwestern Kenya
- P. p. vinaceigularis
- P. p. poliocephalus
Habitat
Mixed woodland, savanna, and dry shrubland.
Behaviour
Diet
Usually seen in cohesive groups of up to 22; flying from tree to tree as they move along their foraging route. They forage, mainly for invertebrates, on the ground and in trees and bushes.
Their diet consists mostly of caterpillars, butterflies, moths, small reptiles and fruit.
Breeding
They seem to lay eggs most months of the year.
They essentially live in clans with an 'alpha pair' which breed with the assistance of younger helpers.
Vocalisation
They are usually seen in well-wooded areas where the group keep in touch with a complex set of over 20 vocalisations.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533
- Sinclair, I and P Ryan. 2003. Birds of Africa South of the Sahara. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691118154
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved April 2019)
- Birdforum Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) White Helmetshrike. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 10 October 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White_Helmetshrike
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1