Eurylaimidae – Broadbills

The broadbills are a clade of small passerine birds, Eurylaimidae (named after the type genus Eurylaimus). The Smithornis and Pseudocalyptomena species occur in sub-Saharan Africa; the rest extend from the eastern Himalayas to Indonesia and the Philippines. The family used to include the sapayoa from the Neotropics but this has now been assigned its own family. Formerly the asities from Madagascar, were included although most sources now treat these as a separate family too.

Many 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. 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, but only the green broadbills of the genus Calyptomena and the Grauer’s broadbill are primarily frugivores (also taking some insects).

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. 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.

There are 15 species in this family; they are listed below.