Red-billed Helmetshrike Prionops caniceps
(Chestnut-bellied Helmetshrike)
Red-billed Helmet-shrike, Kakum, Ghana, May 2011 - click for larger image

Kakum National Park, Ghana
May 2011

The Red-billed Helmetshrike is distributed in West Africa from Mali to Cameroon. It is usually found in the mid and upper levels of mature lowland forest but is also seen in forest edges, gallery forest and farmland.

Red-billed Helmet-shrike, Kakum, Ghana, May 2011 - click for larger image It has a red bill and a yellow eye with red orbital ring. The crown is greyish-white and it has a black throat above white underparts. The lower belly is washed buff but these birds would hardly qualify for the alternative English name of Chestnut-bellied Helmetshrike. In flight it shows a white line on the broad black wings as seen in photo 4.

It is usually in small, noisy groups and feeds on insects, fruits and seeds.

Red-billed Helmet-shrike, Kakum, Ghana, May 2011 - click for larger image It makes a series of croaks, churrs and gurgles.

Red-billed Helmet-shrike, Kakum, Ghana, May 2011 - click for larger image
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