Archbold's Newtonia

About the Archbold's Newtonia

Archbold's newtonia (Newtonia archboldi) is a species of bird in the family Vangidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. The birds have a greyish brown back and tail, with a rufous forecrown and a buffy white belly, throat, and undertail coverts. They have a conspicuous rufous eye-ring, accompanied with a black bill and pale yellow eyes. The species is sexually monomorphic, and there is no major difference between the sexes. There is no breeding plumage for the males.

The newtonia is an insectivore and feeds almost entirely on arthropods. Food is typically gleaned from twigs and foliage, or less commonly from bark or from the ground. It builds an open cup nest which are supported on shrubs. Clutches are typically of 3 eggs. The eggs are reddish white in colour and have many pale brown spots on the larger end of the egg.

The name commemorates the New Guinea explorer and ornithologist Richard Archbold. The species is monotypic. The species epithet archboldi is in honour of the American zoologist Richard Archbold, who participated in the Mission Zoologique Franco... Wikipedia →