Wearing A Perfectly Contrasting Tuxedo Of Snow White And Startling Bright Blue This Bird Looks Even More Distinguished With His Bespeckled Face – Meet The Blue Vanga!
The blue vanga (Cyanolanius madagascarinus), is a bird species in the Vangidae family. Males are bright blue in color, with a black line through the eye that extends all the way to the base of the bill, as well as above and below the bill. There is a pale blue eye-ring, as well as tips on the edges of the wings which are black in color. The chest and belly are a bright shade of white along with a blue bill, and grey legs.
Photo Courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/francesco_veronesi / CC BY-SA 2.0
Females tend to be slightly dull in color overall when compared with males. Her chest and belly are an off-white color with pale orange.
Her wings are also slightly tinged with green.
All members of the Vangas species occur on the island of Madagascar, except for the Blue Vanga which can also be found in Comoros on Mohéli island.
Foraging in the middle and upper levels of trees Blue Vanga’s feed on insects, earthworms, millipedes, lizards, and amphibians. It is thought it may also feed on fruit.
The breeding season is thought to be between October and December when a cup-shaped nest is built about 12 meters above the ground in a fork or on slender branches. The nest is built from twigs and a pale down-like material into which pale blue to green eggs are laid with red to brown speckles.
In Madagascar, this species faces not as many threats due to its larger range and population. it is classified by the IUCN Red List as least concern.