African green broadbill (Pseudocalyptomena graueri)

Description

African green broadbill fact file

• Description
• Biology
• Range
• Habitat
• Status
• Threats
• Conservation
• Find out more
• Glossary
• References
• Print factsheet

African green broadbill description

A rare and beautiful bird, the African green broadbill was first discovered in 1908 and then not seen again for the next twenty years ⁽³⁾. It is a small, plump bird, with bright grass-green plumage, and a pale blue tinge to the throat, breast, base of the short tail and the feathers covering the ears. The forehead is buff, finely streaked with black, and a narrow black stripe runs through the eyes. The wide, flattened and slightly hooked bill is black, as are its claws ^{(2) (3)}.

Also known as

Grauer’s broadbill.

French

Eurylaime de Grauer.

Size

Length: 13.6 – 15.6 cm ⁽²⁾

Weight

29 – 32.5 g ⁽²⁾

African green broadbill biology

The African green broadbill appears to have a widely varied diet, consisting of invertebrates such as small beetles, snails and insect larvae; and vegetable matter including small seeds, flowers, flower buds and fruits ⁽²⁾. It searches for food singly or in small flocks of up to ten birds ⁽²⁾. It will sit motionless on a perch, and then make quick short dashes back and forth after its insect prey, flying with vigorous regular wing beats, but achieving no great speed ⁽³⁾. The African green broadbill has also been seen climbing, like a woodpecker, up vertical branches and on the underside of horizontal limbs searching for invertebrate prey ⁽²⁾.

The nest of the African green broadbill is a remarkable structure; a ball woven from twigs, leaves and rootlets ⁽⁴⁾, 20 to 25 centimetres wide, with a side entrance ⁽²⁾. Layers of green lichen adorn the outside, and it is hung from a near inaccessible tree branch ⁽²⁾. Other information about its breeding is limited. Adult African green broadbills have been found in breeding condition in July and August, a fledged young was seen being fed by an adult in March, and a nest of chicks was found in April ⁽²⁾.

African green broadbill range

The African green broadbill is known from only three locations; the Itombwe Mountains and Mount Kahuzi in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C.), and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in western Uganda ⁽²⁾.

African green broadbill habitat

The African green broadbill inhabits montane primary forests, showing a preference for the forest edge, near clearings or open fields ⁽³⁾, between 1,760 and 2,480 meters ⁽²⁾. There appears to be some differences between the D.R.C. and Uganda populations; in the D.R.C it favours the upper branches of tall trees, while in Uganda it is more frequently found in the forest understorey ⁽²⁾.

African green broadbill status

The African green broadbill is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List ⁽¹⁾.

African green broadbill threats

The African green broadbill inhabits a volatile area, much of which is threatened by deforestation and habitat degradation ⁽⁵⁾. Forests in the Itombwe Mountains and surrounding Mount Kahuzi are under increasing pressure from rapidly rising human populations; an influx of Rwandan refugees in 1994 and rebel soldiers from 1997 resulted in widespread forest clearance for agriculture and hunting ^{(5) (6)}. The year 2000 also saw a rush for the valuable industrial mineral coltan, which attracted more than 10,000 miners to the Kahuz-Biéga National Park in which Mount Kahuzi lies, and led to drastic deforestation and poaching ⁽⁶⁾.

African green broadbill conservation

The African green broadbill occurs in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park which, unlike the Kahuz-Biéga National Park, is well protected. The third location in which the broadbill is found, the Itombwe Mountains, is not protected and faces many threats ⁽⁵⁾. Surveys are required to determine the distribution and status of the African green broadbill ⁽⁵⁾, but at present, the situation is too dangerous in the region to conduct any research ⁽⁶⁾.

View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Find out more

For further information on the African green broadbill see:

• BirdLife International:
  www.birdlife.org/datazone/ebas/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=4028&m=0

Authentication

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Glossary

Invertebrate

Animals with no backbone.

Larvae

Stage in an animal’s lifecycle after it hatches from the egg. Larvae are typically very different in appearance to adults; they are able to feed and move around but usually are unable to reproduce.

Primary forests

Forest that has remained undisturbed for a long time and has reached a mature condition.

References

1. IUCN Red List (September, 2007)
   http://www.iucnredlist.org
2. del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. and Sargatal, J. (2003) Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol.8: Broadbills to Tapaculos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
3. Rockefeller, J.S. and Murphy, C.B.G. (1933) The Rediscovery of Pseudocalyptomena. Auk, 50: 23 - 29.
4. Burnie, D. (2001) Animal. Dorling Kindersley, London.
5. BirdLife International (October, 2007)
   http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/ebas/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=4028&m=0
6. UNEP-WCMC: World Heritage Sites (October, 2007)
   http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/pdf/Kahuzi-Biega.pdf