Gabela Helmetshrike

The Angola glasses Strangler ( Prionops gabela ), also Gabelabrillenwürger, is a species of bird in the family of glasses Strangler ( Prionopidae ), which in embankments near Gabela and Quiçama National Park in the Angolan province Cuanza Sul south of Porto Amboim and east of the port city of Sumbe is native. The distribution, which is strongly zersplittet as a result of deforestation, covers an area of 4.640 km ².

Description

The Angola glasses Strangler was first discovered in 1957 and described by the Canadian ornithologist Austin Loomer Rand for the first time. The plumage of about 19 cm big bird is black. The body is slate gray, the white tail tips. The eyes, eye wrinkles and the beak are red. Little is known about his life, because an exploration of the region and the population is difficult due to the aftermath of the civil war.

Inventory and risk

BirdLife estimated the inventory in 2001 to 1000 to 2500 copies, this bird has only been seen occasionally since 1978. In October 2005, British ornithologist get the very first photo shoot. The Gabelabrillenwürger is threatened as residents of treetops mainly by agriculture and forestry. The habitat destruction is due to the fact that in some areas the forests thinned to 70 to 95 percent and the Bodenvegation was removed to make room for bananas, sweet potatoes, coffee, cassava and maize. In 1996, the Gabelabrillenwürger by IUCN was " high risk " category ( endangered ) classified.