Helmet vanga
The helmet vanga (Euryceros prevostii) is a distinctive-looking bird of the vanga family, Vangidae, and is classified in its own genus, Euryceros. It is mainly blue-black, with rufous wings and a huge arched blue bill. It is restricted to lowland and lower montane rainforests of northeastern Madagascar. Its diet is composed of invertebrates, predominantly insects. The species is threatened by habitat loss. Taxonomy The helmet vanga is the only member of the genus Euryceros. Like most vangas it was originally placed in the shrike family, Laniidae. When the ornithologist Austin L. Rand moved the majority of the vangas into a separate family in 1936, he placed the helmet vanga in its own monotypic family, Eurycerotidae. It was moved to the vanga family by J. Dorst in 1960. The closest relative within the family is believed to be the rufous vanga, which is thought to have split from the helmet vanga 800,000 years ago. The specific name prevostii commemorates the French artist Florent Prévost. Description The helmet vanga is a large vanga, the second-largest species of vanga after the sickle-billed vanga. In length it measures , and it weighs . The most distinctive feature is the massive hooked bill, which is