Rufous-bellied Helmetshrike
Prionops rufiventris
A boldly patterned helmetshrike of lowland forests, often seen in small vocal groups. The bill is red and the head and chin are overall silvery gray. Has a black neck band and black wings, back, and tail. The chest is white and the belly, vent, and legs are reddish. Similar to the Red-billed Helmetshrike, with which it co-occurs locally in Cameroon, but Rufous-bellied Helmetshrike can be identified by its silvery gray chin and head (including below the eye) and the more extensive reddish coloration on its belly. Calls consist of liquid whistles and repeated grating “chew-two” calls.
Identification
It is 20–22 cm long. The adult has glossy black upperparts and throat and reddish-brown underparts with a narrow white breastband. The top and sides of the head and the chin are pale blue-grey and there are bushy whitish feathers on the forehead. The wings are broad and rounded with a white band across the primaries. The bill, legs and feet are orange-red and the eye is yellow with a bare orange-red ring around it. The eastern subspecies P. r. mentalis has darker underparts and a grey-brown eye. Juvenile birds are duller than the adults and have a pale buff-white breast and belly and a largely whitish head. The bill is blackish and the legs and feet are dark orange.<p>It is a noisy bird with a variety of complex chattering and whistling calls. Birds often call together in a duet or chorus. They also make bill-snapping sounds and the wings produce a sound during flight.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Prionops rufiventris
- Authority
- (Bonaparte, 1853)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Vangidae
- Genus
- Prionops
Range and habitat
The western subspecies P. r. rufiventris is found in southern Cameroon, mainland Equatorial Guinea, south-west Central African Republic, northern and western Gabon, Cabinda and parts of the Republic of Congo and north-western Democratic Republic of Congo. P. r. mentalis occurs in central and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and western Uganda and formerly occurred in Rwanda.<p>The species is found mainly in lowland forest up to 1,450 m above sea-level. It occurs in primary and mature secondary forest and in gallery forest along rivers. It is locally common and does not appear to be threatened.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Its behaviour has been little-studied. It typically feeds in pairs or small groups and often joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It most often forages around the middle level of trees at 10–30 m above the ground. It makes short flights to catch prey or gleans items from small branches. The diet consists of insects and other arthropods. The bird appears to breed in groups with one dominant pair helped by the others.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
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