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Birds · Passeriformes · Bernieridae
Long-billed Bernieria
Bernieria madagascariensis
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
The long-billed bernieria — known in Spanish as chochín café de Madagascar or bulbul café — is an unobtrusive olive bird, very common in the island's forests. It belongs to the Bernieridae, a family endemic to Madagascar whose existence was only firmly established in the twenty-first century: for decades its members had been scattered among the bulbuls, the warblers and other families on the strength of superficial resemblance.
Weight
23 g – 35 g
Size
15 cm – 18 cm
Lifespan
8 years
Diet
Insectivore
Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
In pairs
Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- Its family is a recent discovery: well into the twenty-first century its species were still scattered among the bulbuls, warblers and other families, and only genetics revealed that they form a group of their own, confined to Madagascar and descended from a single colonisation.
- It is an example of island adaptive radiation: from a common ancestor, the species of that family today occupy niches as different as the understorey, the canopy and the tree trunks, with very different bills.
- It is a regular member of the mixed flocks of the Malagasy forest, in which several species travel together and benefit from the collective watch.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Understorey and middle storey of humid and dry forest across almost all of Madagascar
- Birth weight
- Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
- Size at birth
- Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
- Sexual maturity
- 12 months
- Gestation / incubation
- 15 days of incubation
- Litter / clutch size
- 2 eggs
Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year in the rainforests of eastern Madagascar, by day; it joins the mixed flocks that work through the understorey.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Long-billed Bernieria — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Fork-tailed Drongo
Dicrurus adsimilis
Pitta-like Ground-Roller
Atelornis pittoides
Common Myna
Acridotheres tristis
Brown Mesite
Mesitornis unicolor
Brahminy Blindsnake
Indotyphlops braminus
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about long-billed bernieria.
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