Black-crowned tchagra

Last updated

Black-crowned tchagra
Black-crowned Tchagra, Tchagra senegala.jpg
Song recorded in Kiboko, Kenya
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Malaconotidae
Genus: Tchagra
Species:
T. senegalus
Binomial name
Tchagra senegalus
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms
  • Lanius senegalusLinnaeus, 1766
  • Tchagra senegala
T. s. kalahari
Nkasa Rupara National Park, Namibia Black-crowned tchagra (Tchagra senegalus kalahari).jpg
T. s. kalahari
Nkasa Rupara National Park, Namibia

The black-crowned tchagra (Tchagra senegalus) is a bushshrike. This family of passerine birds is closely related to the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, and was once included in that group.

Contents

This species is found in the Arabian peninsula and most of Africa in scrub, open woodland, semi-desert and cultivation.

Taxonomy

In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the black-crowned tchagra in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in Senegal. He used the French name La pie-griesche gris du Sénégal and the Latin Lanius Senegalensis cinereus. [2] Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. [3] When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. [3] One of these was the black-crowned tchagra. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Lanius senegalus and cited Brisson's work. [4] The species is now placed in the genus Tchagra that was introduced by the French naturalist René Lesson in 1831. [5] Nine subspecies are recognised. [6]

Description

Adults have a solid black crown, bordered by buff superciliary stripes, but juveniles have a brownish crown. Black-crowned Tchagra, Tchagra senegala at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa (15085046645).jpg
Adults have a solid black crown, bordered by buff superciliary stripes, but juveniles have a brownish crown.

The black-crowned tchagra is a colourful and unmistakable species, 19–22 cm in length. It has a black crown and eye stripes separated by a broad white supercilium. The underparts are pale grey and the upperparts pale brown. The folded wings are chestnut and the tail is black, tipped white. The bill is black.

Sexes are similar, but young birds have a brown cap and a pale yellow bill. There are 14 subspecies, varying in size and the colour of the back, underparts and eyestripe.

Black-crowned tchagra has a descending whistling song, chee-chee chee cheroo cheroo, and can be readily tempted into sight by imitating this call, presumably because the bird is concerned that there is an intruder in its territory. The male also has a switchback display flight.

Behaviour

Black-crowned tchagra lays two or three heavily marked white eggs in a cup nest in a tree or bush. Both sexes, but mainly the female, incubate for 12–15 days to hatching; the chicks fledge after another 15 days.

It is similar in habits to the shrikes, hunting insects and other small prey from a perch in a bush, although it sits less conspicuously than true shrikes.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mosque swallow</span> Species of bird

The mosque swallow is a large swallow. It is a resident breeder in much of sub-Saharan Africa, although most common in the west. It does not migrate but follows the rains to some extent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senegal coucal</span> Species of bird

The Senegal coucal is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, and the hoatzin. It is a medium-sized member of its genus and is found in lightly-wooded country and savannah in central and southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-billed oxpecker</span> Species of bird

The yellow-billed oxpecker is a passerine bird in the family Buphagidae. It was previously placed in the starling and myna family, Sturnidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-crowned gonolek</span> Species of bird

The yellow-crowned gonolek, also known as the common gonolek, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the bushshrike family. It is a common resident breeding bird in equatorial Africa from Senegal and Democratic Republic of Congo east to Ethiopia. It is a skulking bird and frequents dense undergrowth in forests and other wooded habitats. The nest is a cup structure in a bush or tree in which two eggs are laid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-billed firefinch</span> Species of bird

The red-billed firefinch or Senegal firefinch is a small seed-eating bird in the family Estrildidae. This is a resident breeding bird in most of Sub-Saharan Africa with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 10,000,000 km2. It was introduced to Egypt, but the population there has become extinct. It was also introduced to southern Algeria where it is currently expanding northward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-winged snowfinch</span> Species of bird

The white-winged snowfinch, or snowfinch, is a small passerine bird. Despite its name, it is a sparrow rather than a true finch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turquoise tanager</span> Species of bird

The turquoise tanager is a medium-sized passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is a resident bird from Trinidad, much of Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela south to Bolivia. It is restricted to areas with humid forest, with its primary distribution being the Amazon. It was formerly treated as being conspecific with the white-bellied tanager which is found in the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-crested antshrike</span> Species of bird

The black-crested antshrike is a passerine bird in the antbird family. It is a resident breeder in tropical South America in Trinidad, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, northern Brazil and northeastern Peru. It is unclear whether the species also occurs south of the Amazon in Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern fiscal</span> Species of bird

The southern fiscal or fiscal shrike is a member of the shrike family found through most of southern Africa. It is also sometimes named jackie hangman or butcher bird due to its habit of impaling its prey on acacia thorns to store the food for later consumption. It was previously lumped together with the northern fiscal. Together they were known as the common fiscal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape bunting</span> Species of bird

The Cape bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape batis</span> Species of bird

The Cape batis is a small, stout insect-eating passerine bird in the wattle-eye family. It is endemic to the Afromontane forests of southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-faced munia</span> Species of bird

The black-faced munia is a species of estrildid finch found in Indonesia and East Timor. It occurs in a wide range of habitats including artificial landscapes, forest, grassland and savannah. It was first described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae in 1766. The IUCN has evaluated the status of this bird as being of least concern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape bulbul</span> Species of bird

The Cape bulbul is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is an endemic resident breeder in coastal bush, open forest, gardens and fynbos in western and southern South Africa. This species nests mainly in the southern spring from September to November. The nest is a thick-walled cup concealed by foliage in a small tree or shrub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senegal batis</span> Species of bird

The Senegal batis is a species of small passerine bird in the wattle-eyes family, Platysteiridae. It occurs in western Africa where it is found in dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It was originally given the binomial name Muscicapa senegalensis by Carl Linnaeus in 1766.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-tailed vanga</span> Species of bird

The red-tailed vanga is a species of bird in the family Vangidae. It is endemic to Madagascar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madagascar blue vanga</span> Species of bird

The Madagascar blue vanga is a bird species in the family Vangidae. It is found in Madagascar, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crested drongo</span> Species of bird

The crested drongo is a passerine bird in the family Dicruridae. It is black with a bluish-green sheen, a distinctive crest on the forehead and a forked tail. There are two subspecies; D. f. forficatus is endemic to Madagascar and D. f. potior, which is larger, is found on the Comoro Islands. Its habitat is lowland forests, both dry and humid, and open savannah country. It is a common bird and the IUCN has listed it as "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufous vanga</span> Species of bird

The rufous vanga is a species of bird in the family Vangidae. It is monotypic within the genus Schetba. It is endemic to Madagascar, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flame-crested tanager</span> Species of bird

The flame-crested tanager is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. Ten subspecies are currently recognized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hook-billed vanga</span> Species of bird

The hook-billed vanga is a species of bird in the family Vangidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2017). "Tchagra senegalus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T22707495A111990155. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22707495A111990155.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés (in French and Latin). Vol. 2. Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. pp. 167–169, Plate 17 fig 1. The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen.
  3. 1 2 Allen, J.A. (1910). "Collation of Brisson's genera of birds with those of Linnaeus". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 28: 317–335. hdl:2246/678.
  4. Linnaeus, Carl (1766). Systema naturae : per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 1 (12th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 137.
  5. Lesson, René (1831). Traité d'Ornithologie, ou Tableau Méthodique (in French). Paris: F.G. Levrault. p. 373.
  6. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2018). "Batises, woodshrikes, bushshrikes, vangas". World Bird List Version 8.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  7. Zimmerman, Dale A.; et al. (1999). Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania. Princeton University Press. pp. 216–217, 613. ISBN   0691010226.