Bedhead Bird

Before we jump into this week’s article, I have a special announcement! Have you ever had a question about created kinds but didn’t know who to ask? Have you ever wanted to learn more about your favorite kind? Well, now you can! You can ask me, Inspector Barry Mins, a question! Have your parents fill out this form, and you might get your question answered in my column! I might also write my next article about your favorite kind and give you a shout-out at the top of the article! So, if you have any questions about created kinds, feel free to send them my way!

This week we head to the tropical forests and scrubs of Africa. Our target should not be hard to find—they are noisy little birds.

Aside from their call, which is distinctive and incredibly loud compared to most birds, this week’s kind has another distinctive feature. Some species have what looks like a bad hair day atop their heads. This specialized helmet of sorts helps give the kind part of its name. Often they live in small flocks ranging from a handful to just over a dozen.1 These groups constantly chatter at one another as they move across the landscape in search of insects and other small prey.

Has anyone figured it out yet? This week is a tough one—there is not much information available on this kind. This week’s kind is the Prionopidae, also known as the helmetshrike kind. These picturesque birds are found throughout Africa. Next week we will stay in Africa, again looking for birds, but these birds are much more well known.

Retz's Helmetshrike
Steve Garvie from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Try out this fun crossword puzzle!

Clue

Your clue for the week is:

This bird gets its name from its habit of riding other animals and repeatedly pecking at their backs.