Piapiac
Encyclopedia
The Piapiac is a member of the crow family, and is the only member of the genus
Ptilostomus. According to recent findings, it is most closely related to the Central Asia
n ground jay
s (Ericson et al., 2005).
(Pica pica) though the bill is relatively thicker. The overall colouring of the bird
is black with the feather
s quite silky in texture and having a purplish gloss in good light. The base of the tail tends to be more brown in colour than the rest of the body. The nasal plumes are somewhat upturned on top of the bill
but fully cover the nostrils. The bill itself is black in the adult but partly reddish-pink towards the base in juvenile specimens. The bird's legs and feet are black and the iris is variable, but tends towards violet, purple or mauve with a bluish-purple outer ring. The voice is usually described as a shrill squeaking often with the Jackdaw
-like overtones. There is also a croaking alarm call given in anger where the head bobs.
ial region of central Africa
from Senegal
on the west coast, eastwards in a broad band to Sudan
and southern Ethiopia
. Within this range
, its favoured habitat
is towards more open country of cultivated land with fields and pasture
and small associated towns and villages.
s and other invertebrate
s but will take a degree of carrion, possibly attracted as much by the associated insects this attracts as much as the meat itself. Some fruit is also taken in trees with the oily fruit of the Oil Palm
Elaeis guineensis a favourite. Able to run fast with some agility, it tends to hop at slower speed and will catch insects disturbed by the feet of cattle
, sometimes hitching a ride on their backs and darting out to catch the prey.
stems are cemented together with mud and lined with palm fibre to form a cup. Three to seven eggs are laid and are very pale blue or greenish-blue with a few brown blotches from March to April.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Ptilostomus. According to recent findings, it is most closely related to the Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
n ground jay
Ground jay
The ground jays or ground choughs belong to a distinct group of the passerine order of birds in the genus Podoces of the crow family Corvidae...
s (Ericson et al., 2005).
Description
In size it is a little smaller and slimmer than the European MagpieEuropean Magpie
The European Magpie, Eurasian Magpie, or Common Magpie, , is a resident breeding bird throughout Europe, much of Asia and northwest Africa. It is one of several birds in the crow family named as magpies, and belongs to the Holarctic radiation of "monochrome" magpies...
(Pica pica) though the bill is relatively thicker. The overall colouring of the bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
is black with the feather
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
s quite silky in texture and having a purplish gloss in good light. The base of the tail tends to be more brown in colour than the rest of the body. The nasal plumes are somewhat upturned on top of the bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
but fully cover the nostrils. The bill itself is black in the adult but partly reddish-pink towards the base in juvenile specimens. The bird's legs and feet are black and the iris is variable, but tends towards violet, purple or mauve with a bluish-purple outer ring. The voice is usually described as a shrill squeaking often with the Jackdaw
Jackdaw
The Jackdaw , sometimes known as the Eurasian Jackdaw, European Jackdaw or Western Jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. Found across Europe, western Asia and North Africa, it is mostly sedentary, although northern and eastern populations migrate south in winter. Four subspecies are...
-like overtones. There is also a croaking alarm call given in anger where the head bobs.
Distribution and habitat
The range of the species is the tropical equatorEquator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
ial region of central Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
from Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
on the west coast, eastwards in a broad band to Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
and southern Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Within this range
Range (biology)
In biology, the range or distribution of a species is the geographical area within which that species can be found. Within that range, dispersion is variation in local density.The term is often qualified:...
, its favoured habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
is towards more open country of cultivated land with fields and pasture
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
and small associated towns and villages.
Feeding
Food is obtained in flocks of ten or more birds moving together on the ground including insectInsect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and other invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s but will take a degree of carrion, possibly attracted as much by the associated insects this attracts as much as the meat itself. Some fruit is also taken in trees with the oily fruit of the Oil Palm
Oil palm
The oil palms comprise two species of the Arecaceae, or palm family. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African Oil Palm Elaeis guineensis is native to West Africa, occurring between Angola and Gambia, while the American Oil Palm Elaeis oleifera is native to...
Elaeis guineensis a favourite. Able to run fast with some agility, it tends to hop at slower speed and will catch insects disturbed by the feet of cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, sometimes hitching a ride on their backs and darting out to catch the prey.
Breeding
The Piapiac often nests in a palm tree, but other nesting types are also used. Strips of palm leaf and grassGrass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
stems are cemented together with mud and lined with palm fibre to form a cup. Three to seven eggs are laid and are very pale blue or greenish-blue with a few brown blotches from March to April.
