Newtonia (bird)

Newtonia is a genus of passerine birds containing four species. They were formerly classified in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae or Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae but have recently been shown to belong to the vanga family Vangidae.^[1] They are endemic to Madagascar where they occur in forest or scrubland. They forage in pairs for insects, often joining mixed-species feeding flocks.

They are small plump birds, about 12 centimetres in length. They have slender bills and usually have a pale eye. Their plumage is mainly grey or brown, paler on the underparts. They have loud, repeated songs.

Species list

List of species in taxonomic order:

• Dark Newtonia, Newtonia amphichroa
• Common Newtonia, Newtonia brunneicauda
• Archbold's Newtonia, Newtonia archboldi
• Red-tailed Newtonia, Newtonia fanovanae

References

1. ^ Yamagishi, Satoshi; Honda, Masanao; Eguchi, Kazuhiro & Thorstrom, Russel (2001) "Extreme endemic radiation of the Malagasy Vangas (Aves: Passeriformes)" Journal of Molecular Evolution, 53: 39-46

• Sinclair, Ian & Langrand, Olivier (1998) Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands, Struik, Cape Town.