Eurylaimidae

The Eurylaimidae are a family of passerine birds that occur from the eastern Himalayas to Indonesia and the Philippines. The family previously included the sapayoa from the Neotropics, the asities from Madagascar, and the Calyptomenidae from Africa, but these are now separated into distinct families.

Eurylaimidae
Banded broadbill Eurylaimus javanicus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Superfamily:	Eurylaimoidea
Family:	Eurylaimidae
Genera
Cymbirhynchus Psarisomus Serilophus Eurylaimus Sarcophanops Corydon Pseudocalyptomena

Description

Many of the species are brightly coloured birds that present broad heads, large eyes and a hooked, flat and broad beak. They range from 13 to 28 centimetres in length, and live in the dense canopies of wet forests, allowing them to hide despite their brightly coloured plumage.[1] The plumage of the juveniles eurylaimids are similar to those of the adults, differing in being duller and shorter-winged and shorter-tailed in some cases.[2]

Behaviour and ecology

They are for the most part insectivorous and carnivorous. Prey taken include insects, spiders, centipedes, and millipedes, as well as lizards and tree frogs. Prey is obtained by sallying from a perch to snatch it in flight, and gleaning the prey off leaves and branches while flying. Some species may take some fruit, but only the green broadbills of the genus Calyptomena and the Grauer's broadbill are primarily frugivores (which also take some insects as well).

They are generally gregarious, with many species moving about in flocks of about 20 individuals. They attach their purse-shaped nests to suspended vines, and leave a tail of fibres hanging below it. This gives the nest the appearance of being random debris caught in the tree, an effect further enhanced by the birds covering the nest with lichen and spider webs.[1] Broadbills typically lay two to three eggs.

Taxonomy and systematics

The family includes nine species of which five are each placed in their own monotypic genera:[3]

Image	Genus	Living Species
	Cymbirhynchus Vigors, 1830	Black-and-red broadbill, Cymbirhynchus macrorhynchos
	Psarisomus Swainson, 1837	Long-tailed broadbill, Psarisomus dalhousiae
	Serilophus Swainson, 1837	Silver-breasted broadbill, Serilophus lunatus
	Eurylaimus Horsfield, 1821	Banded broadbill, Eurylaimus javanicus Black-and-yellow broadbill, Eurylaimus ochromalus
	Sarcophanops Gould, 1877	Wattled broadbill, Sarcophanops steerii Visayan broadbill, Sarcophanops samarensis
	Corydon Lesson, 1828	Dusky broadbill, Corydon sumatranus
	Pseudocalyptomena Rothschild, 1909	Grauer's broadbill, Pseudocalyptomena graueri

References

1. McClure, H. Elliott (1991). Forshaw, Joseph (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press. pp. 158–158. ISBN 1-85391-186-0.
2. del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Christie, D. (2003). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 8: Broadbills to Tapaculos. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 84-87334-50-4.
3. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "NZ wrens, Sapayoa, broadbills, asities, pittas". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 26 June 2019.

Further reading

• Moyle, R.G.; Chesser, R.T.; Prum, R.O.; Schikler, P.; Cracraft, J. (2006). Phylogeny and evolutionary history of Old World suboscine birds (Aves: Eurylaimides). American Museum Novitates, Number 3544. New York: American Museum of Natural History.

External links

• Broadbill videos on the Internet Bird Collection