The sickle-billed vanga (Falculea palliata ) is a species of bird in the vanga family Vangidae. It is monotypic within the genus Falculea. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are tropical dry forests and tropical dry shrubland.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
A territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
Polygyny is a mating system in which one female lives and mates with multiple males but each male only mates with a single female.
Flocking birds are those that tend to gather to forage or travel collectively. Avian flocks are typically associated with migration. Flocking also ...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe sickle-billed vanga is the largest of the vangas, measuring 32 cm (13 in) in length and weighing 106 to 119 g (3.7–4.2 oz). The most striking feature is the bill, which is strongly decurved and measures 77 mm (3.0 in) and is blue-grey fading to ivory at the tip. The plumage is striking, with a white head, breast and belly and the back, wings and tail being black with a blue sheen. The iris is brown and the orbital ring around the eye is black. The legs are strong and coloured dark grey to pale blue. There is no sexual dimorphism. Juveniles are similar to adults but the black feathers on the back and wings are tipped with buff.
The sickle-billed vanga is endemic to Madagascar, where it is found throughout the western side of the island. It ranges from sea-level up to 900 metres (3,000 ft). It is found in dry deciduous forest as well as thorn-forest. It can also be found in open savanna and in wooded areas around villages. The species is non-migratory.
The species is common within its range and is protected by a number of national parks, including Andohahela National Park, Ankarafantsika National Park, and Berenty Reserve. As such it is evaluated as Least Concern by the IUCN.
The sickle-billed vanga is a social species, particularly in the tiding flea season when it can travel in groups of up to thirty birds while foraging for food and form roosting groups of over fifty birds. These flocks become smaller during the breeding season, but retain a small group of non-breeders that forage together over a wide area. They will form mixed-species foraging flocks with the related white-headed vanga and the crested drongo. The species feeds on a wide range of terrestrial invertebrates, including spiders, cockroaches, crickets, beetles, and worms. Small vertebrates, including chameleons and geckos, are also part of the diet and are also fed to nestlings. They generally feed in trees and particularly favour large branches, and will probe their long bill deep into holes and use it to lever off bark to get at concealed prey, occupying part of the niche usually filled by woodpeckers, which are absent from Madagascar (they do not fully fill the niche as they do not hammer the wood for prey).
The sickle-billed vanga is apparently a seasonal breeder, with the season running from October to January in Ankarafantsika National Park in the north western part of the island. This coincides with the end of the dry season. The species is one of the vangas that has a polyandrous breeding system, where one female will mate with two or more males and all are responsible for raising the young. It is the female that engages in courtship displays, approaching the male and quivering her wings while holding the body in a horizontal posture. The male does not perform any display in return. Sickle-billed vangas are territorial and the males in the group will defend the territory from rivals and from potential or actual predators.
The nest is atypical for the family, consisting of a large untidy bowl of twigs, 30–40 centimetres (12–16 in) in diameter, situated 9–16 metres (30–52 ft) off the ground in the fork of a tree. The inner structure is lined with more delicate material. It is constructed by both sexes, but more work is done by the female. The clutch consists of three or four eggs, which are creamy white with mottling (particularly towards the larger end of the egg). Both sexes incubate the eggs, and feed and brood the chicks, but as with nest construction the female does more of the work than the males. The incubation period is 16 to 18 days, and chicks fledge after 19 to 23 days.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...