Cape penduline tit

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Cape penduline tit
Southern Penduline-Tit (Anthoscopus minutus).jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Remizidae
Genus: Anthoscopus
Species:
A. minutus
Binomial name
Anthoscopus minutus
(Shaw, 1812)
Anthoscopus minutus distribution map.png

The Cape penduline tit or southern penduline tit (Anthoscopus minutus) is a species of bird in the family Remizidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry savannah, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation. At eight centimetres (3 in) in length, it is one of the smallest species of bird found in Africa, along with its cousins the grey penduline tit and the mouse-coloured penduline tit. [2] [3]

Contents

Taxonomy

The Cape penduline tit was formally described and illustrated in 1812 by the English naturalist George Shaw under the binomial name Sylvia minuta. [4] The species is now placed in the genus Anthoscopus that was introduced in 1851 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis. [5] [6] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek anthos meaning "blossom" or "flower" with skopos meaning "searcher". The specific epithet minutus is Latin meaning "little". [7]

Three subspecies are recognised: [6]

Behaviour

Breeding

They build a globular nest made of the webs of Stegodyphus spiders as well as silken fibre from various plants. An entrance hole is made on the side and towards the end, a false entry and chamber are constructed below the actual entrance to the nest chamber. The spout at the entrance has a separating septum with the entrance to the actual nest chamber at the upper portion, the septum pushed up with its forehead to close the upper entrance by the bird just before leaving the nest so as to show only the main entrance leading into a blind chamber. This is a defence against snakes and other nest predators. [8] [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penduline tit</span> Family of birds

The penduline tits constitute the family, Remizidae, of small passerine birds, related to the true tits. All but the verdin make elaborate bag nests hanging from trees, usually over water.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardinal woodpecker</span> Species of bird

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue waxbill</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian penduline tit</span> Species of bird

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuckoo-finch</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey penduline tit</span> Species of bird

The grey penduline tit, also known as the African penduline-tit, is a species of bird in the family Remizidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, and moist savanna. At 8 to 9 cm in length and a weight of 6.5 g (0.23 oz), it is one of the smallest species of bird found in Africa, along with its cousin the Cape penduline tit and the perhaps smaller mouse-colored penduline tit and the tit hylia.

<i>Anthoscopus</i> Genus of birds

Anthoscopus is a genus of birds in the penduline tit family Remizidae. The genus is restricted to Sub-Saharan Africa, where it ranges from the Sahel to South Africa. Unlike many of the Eurasian penduline, these species are not generally migratory, instead remaining close to their breeding sites year round. A wide range of habitats is occupied by the six species, from deserts to woodlands to rainforest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mouse-coloured penduline tit</span> Species of bird

The mouse-coloured penduline tit or mouse-colored penduline tit is a species of bird in the family Remizidae. At 8 cm (3.1 in) in length, it is one of the two shortest birds native to Africa, alongside the tit hylia.

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

The yellow penduline tit is a species of bird in the family Remizidae. This small yellow passerine bird is found in semi-arid savanna regions of West Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashy tit</span> Species of bird

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The sociable weaver is a species of bird in the weaver family that is endemic to southern Africa. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Philetairus. It is found in South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana. but their range is centered within the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. They build large compound community nests, a rarity among birds. These nests are perhaps the most spectacular structure built by any bird.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hartlaub's babbler</span> Species of bird

Hartlaub's babbler or the Angola babbler, is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae, which is native to south central Africa. The common name and Latin binomial commemorate the German physician and ornithologist Gustav Hartlaub.

<i>Machlolophus</i> Genus of birds

Machlolophus is a genus of birds in the tit family. The species were formerly placed with many others in the genus Parus but were moved to Machlolophus based on a molecular phylogenetic analysis published in 2013 that showed that the members formed a distinct clade.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Anthoscopus minutus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22711679A94306171. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22711679A94306171.en . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. Sinclair, Ian (1995). Southern African Birds: A Photographic Guide. ISBN   9781770072442.
  3. Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi by Stevenson & Fanshawe. Elsevier Science (2001), ISBN   978-0856610790
  4. Shaw, George (1812). The Naturalist's Miscellany (in Latin). Vol. 23. London: Printed for Nodder & Co. Plate 997.
  5. Cabanis, Jean (1850–1851). Museum Heineanum : Verzeichniss der ornithologischen Sammlung des Oberamtmann Ferdinand Heine, auf Gut St. Burchard vor Halberstadt (in German and Latin). Vol. 1. Halberstadt: R. Frantz. p. 89.
  6. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2022). "Waxwings and allies, tits, penduline tits". IOC World Bird List Version 12.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  7. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp.  49, 256. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  8. Collias, Nicholas E.; Collias, Elsie C. (1984). "Predators and Nests". Nest Building and Bird Behavior. Princeton University Press. pp. 142–163. doi:10.1515/9781400853625.142. ISBN   978-1-4008-5362-5.
  9. Skead, C. J. (1959). "A study of the Cape penduline tit Anthoscopus minutus minutus (Shaw and Nodder)". Ostrich. 30 (sup1): 274–288. doi:10.1080/00306525.1959.9633335. ISSN   0030-6525.