List of birds of Madagascar

The sickle-billed vanga belongs to the family Vangidae, one of Madagascar's endemic families.

Madagascar is an island nation located off the southeastern coast of Africa. Because of its long separation from neighboring continents—through tectonic movement, it split from Africa about 160 million years ago, and from India around 90 million years ago—it contains many species endemic to the island.^[1] Of the 281 bird species recorded on Madagascar, 105 are found nowhere else on earth, and a handful of others are shared only with the neighbouring Comoro Islands.^[2]

This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) follows the conventions of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th edition.^[3]

Species status comments are taken from Morris and Hawkins's Birds of Madagascar: A Photographic Guide unless otherwise noted. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total counts. The IUCN Red List codes are those given by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources; they come from the IUCN's Red List website.^[4]

Table legend

IUCN Red List Codes

List of species

The harlequin quail breeds occasionally in Madagascar.^[5]

The little grebe is common on fresh and brackish waters, particularly in western wetlands and the northern highlands.^[6]

There are few recent records of black-browed albatross, which was formerly frequent in Madagascar waters.^[7]

Though not often seen from land, the Wilson's storm petrel is regularly recorded on migration through Malagasy waters, sometimes in large numbers.^[8]

Pink-backed pelicans bred in Madagascar in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but have only been recorded a few times since.^[9]

The greater frigatebird is typically found soaring in groups high above the ocean, often in thermals.^[10]

The globally threatened Humblot's heron is endemic to Madagascar, though it may also breed on the Comoros.^[11]

The endemic, forest-dwelling Madagascar crested ibis is heavily hunted, despite being legally protected.^[12]

The Madagascan fish eagle is critically endangered, with a breeding population of fewer than 100 pairs.^[13]

The subdesert mesite is restricted to a coastal strip of dry, spiny forest in southwestern Madagascar.^[14]

The crab-plover is a common visitor to the island's west coast.^[15]

The giant coua feeds on the ground, primarily on insects.^[16]

The African palm-swift is common and widespread, particularly in coastal lowland areas with tall palms.^[17]

The tiny Madagascar pygmy-kingfisher is found in forests with dense understory.

The scarce and secretive short-legged ground roller is threatened by habitat destruction and degradation.^[18]

The cuckoo-roller is found in forests and woodlands throughout the island.

The white-headed vanga is widespread and found in all types of forest.

The Madagascar paradise-flycatcher is a regional endemic, found in both Madagascar and the Comoros.^[19]

The long-billed bernieria, formerly thought to be a greenbul, is now considered a Malagasy warbler.

There are multiple subspecies of the endemic Madagascar magpie robin found across the island, differing in the amount of black in the adult male's plumage.^[20]

The male souimanga sunbird has iridescent plumage in the breeding season—which is generally from August to January.^[19]

The endemic Madagascar red fody is common and widespread, even in the country's capital, Antananarivo.^[21]

See also

• Endemic birds of Madagascar and western Indian Ocean islands
• List of birds
• Lists of birds by region

References

Sources

• Morris, Pete; Hawkins, Frank (1998). Birds of Madagascar: A Photographic Guide. Mountfield, UK: Pica Press. ISBN 1-873403-45-3. 
• Sinclair, Ian; Langrand, Olivier (1998). Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands. Cape Town: Struik. ISBN 1-86872-956-7. 

External links

• African Bird Club checklist of the birds of Madagascar generates downloadable PDF
• Avibase checklist of the birds of Madagascar