Eurylaimidae – Grauer’s & Asian Broadbills

Eurylaimidae (Grauer’s and Asian broadbills) are a family of passerines; one part of the Eurylaimides group that also includes Philepittidae (asites), Calyptomenidae (African & Green Broadbills), Sapayoidae (sapayoa) and Pittidae (pittas). The species in the family extend from the eastern Himalayas to Indonesia and the Philippines.

The family used to include all the Eurylaimides, but each of the above are now treated as separate families too.  A DNA sequence-based study by Carl Oliveros and colleagues (2019) determined the phylogenetic relationships of the Eurylaimidae to other families in the Eurylaimides (Old World suboscines) group.

Black-and-yellow Broadbill Eurylaimus ochromalus – ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

They range in size from 13 to 28 cm in length. Most of the broadbills are brightly coloured and have broad heads, large eyes and a hooked, flat and broad beak. They live in the dense canopies of wet forests, allowing them to be inconspicuous despite their brightly coloured plumage. They are sometimes given away by their throaty staccato calls.

Dusky Broadbill Corydon sumatranus – ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

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.

They are mostly insectivorous and carnivorous. Prey taken include insects, spiders, centipedes, and millipedes, as well as lizards and tree frogs, usually obtained by sallying from a perch to snatch insects in flight, or by gleaning the prey off leaves and branches while flying. Some species may take some fruit, for example Grauer’s Broadbill is primarily frugivores (also taking some insects).

Black-and-red Broadbill Cymbirhynchus macrorhynchos – ©Bird-Photo-Tours ASIA

They are generally gregarious, with many species moving about in flocks of about 20 individuals.

Broadbills attach their purse-shaped nests to suspended vines, and leave a tail of fibres hanging below it. They often site their nests over water or near a bee or wasp nest to protect it from tree-climbing predators, such as snakes.

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.

Broadbills typically lay two to three eggs.

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