Red-shouldered vanga

The red-shouldered vanga (Calicalicus rufocarpalis) is a member of the vanga family endemic to south-west Madagascar.[1]

Red-shouldered vanga
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Vangidae
Genus: Calicalicus
Species:
C. rufocarpalis
Binomial name
Calicalicus rufocarpalis
Goodman, Hawkins & Domergue, 1997

This species is notable for being the last species viewed by internationally renowned bird watcher Phoebe Snetsinger before her 1999 death in Madagascar.[2]

Description

Like many of the vangas, this species is sexually dimorphic; the male is the more colorful of the two. He has a pale gray crown, nape and mantle, with white on the ear coverts and forehead. Other than a black bib, which extends from the beak partway down the breast and up the sides of his neck, his underparts are principally whitish, tinged with pink on the breast and flanks. His flight feathers are brown, his wing coverts are brick-red, and his tail is a pale brick-red. His beak is black, his irides are yellow, and his legs and feet are pinkish-gray.[3]

Conservation and threats

The species has been rated as Vulnerable by the IUCN, based on its low population numbers and very small range.[1]

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Calicalicus rufocarpalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. White, David M.; Guyette, Susan M. (2010). Zen Birding. Ropley, Hampshire: O Books. p. 16. ISBN 1-84694-389-2.
  3. Morris, Pete; Hawkins, Frank (1998). Birds of Madagascar: A Photographic Guide. Mountfield, UK: Pica Press. pp. 242–243. ISBN 1-873403-45-3.
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