Helmetshrike

Helmetshrikes
White-crested helmetshrike Prionops plumatus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Vangidae
Genus:	Prionops Vieillot, 1816
Type species
Lanius plumatus[1] Shaw, 1809

Helmetshrikes are a

Description and ecology

This is an African group of species which are found in scrub or open woodland. They are similar in feeding habits to shrikes, hunting insects and other small prey from a perch on a bush or tree.

Although similar in build to the shrikes, these tend to be colourful species with the distinctive crests or other head ornaments, such as wattles, from which they get their name.

Helmetshrikes are noisy and sociable birds, some of which breed in loose colonies. They lay 2–4 eggs in neat, well-hidden nests.

Systematics

As the relationships of the shrike-like birds are increasingly disentangled, the helmetshrikes appear to form an

• Genus
  Prionops
  – typical helmetshrikes
  • White-crested helmetshrike, Prionops plumatus
  • Grey-crested helmetshrike, Prionops poliolophus
  • Yellow-crested helmetshrike, Prionops alberti
  • Red-billed helmetshrike, Prionops caniceps
  • Rufous-bellied helmetshrike, Prionops rufiventris
  • Retz's helmetshrike, Prionops retzii
  • Gabela helmetshrike, Prionops gabela
  • Chestnut-fronted helmetshrike, Prionops scopifrons

References

External links

• Helmetshrike videos in the Macaulay Library