| Cape rockjumper | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Chaetopidae |
| Genus: | Chaetops |
| Species: | C. frenatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Chaetops frenatus (Temminck, 1826) | |
The Cape rockjumper or rufous rockjumper (Chaetops frenatus) is a medium-sized insectivorous passerine bird endemic to the mountain Fynbos of southernmost South Africa.
The Cape and Drakensberg rockjumpers were split into separate species in the 1980s. The Latin epithet frenatus refers to the "bridled" or black-and-white head pattern. When the Drakensberg rockjumper was split it was given the Latin aurantius meaning 'orange'. Initial taxonomy placed rockjumpers in the thrush family Turdidae in 1867. They were then moved to the babblers Timaliidae in the 1980s, before genetic work in the 1990s placed them in their own family Chaetopidae. See the main page on the rockjumper for more details.
Some authorities (notably Dickinson and Christidis) treat the two rockjumpers as a single species, Chaetops frenatus, with two subspecies. [2] However, for most field guides and birders, and according to the International Ornithologists' Union and The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, they are two species.
Cape rockjumpers exist only in Alpine Fynbos, a specialized habitat of 90,000 ha from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth in South Africa. These birds are alpine habitat specialists, and so used to a very specific range of temperatures. Cape rockjumper numbers are declining in warmer parts of their habitat, and birds were found to have low heat tolerance compared to other birds of the Fynbos. [3] Juvenile Cape rockjumpers are more sensitive to the heat than adults, and perhaps cannot drink enough water to make up for the water they lose in trying to stay cool when it is hot. [4]
Birds also struggle to continue foraging when it is hot, and produce smaller offspring at higher temperatures.
Birds forage on rocky slopes and scree. Insects are the major part of the diet, although small vertebrates are reported to be taken by Cape rockjumpers. A range of insects are taken, including caterpillars, moths, grasshoppers, beetles and flies. In addition to insects other prey include lizards and geckos, amphibians, scorpions, annelid worms and spiders. Their wings are proportionately small and they do not fly very often, although they will often take long gliding "flights" across valleys or downslope. They spend most of their lives running and jumping among rocks and grasses while hunting arthropods, small lizards, and amphibians.
Family group territories near Cape Town vary in size from 4–11 ha (10–27 acres), but are larger out east. [5] Typically these grounds consist of a breeding pair and one or two additional individuals, usually offspring from the preceding breeding season. [6] These helpers participate in territorial defence and alarm calling, and in the feeding of nestlings and fledglings of the breeding pair. Both sexes help with nest building and incubation.
While an initial study from 2002 found Cape rockjumpers attempt only one nest per season, [7] a more recent study found they will attempt up to 5 nests per season if initial nests fail, and even re-nesting when they have had a successful nest. [8]
Nests are built on the ground under rocky overhangs, and lined with either fur from red rock hare or old and fluffy protea seed pods. In general, nests are built under rocks on the downward facing slope to provide protection in inclement weather.
As ground nesters, rockjumpers face large amounts of predation. Cape rockjumper nest predation comes predominantly from the Boomslang, with this predation increasing at higher temperatures. They also experience predation from Cape grey mongoose, honey badger, common egg-eater, and African vlei rat. [9] While parents can deter mongoose by harassing them, this is generally not successful to deter snakes. Although not recorded, it is also likely they experience predation from chacma baboon, black-backed jackal, white-necked raven, and other snakes in the area (such as Cape cobra or puff adder).
Nest success for Cape rockjumpers is higher in territories that had more recent fire (within 3–5 years), possibly as there were fewer predators present.
Cape rockjumpers inhabit only mountain Fynbos, specifically that dominated by low scrubby restio vegetation. They prefer steep slopes with plenty of large boulders from which they can perch to keep an eye out for predators. While there is an established population at sea level at Rooi-Els (~ 80 km east of Cape Town), this area nevertheless is made up of mountain Fynbos habitat.
This rockjumper is 23–25 cm long with a long black tail and strong legs. The male has a dark grey and black head with a thin white supercilium and a broad white moustache (malar stripe). The back and wings are dark grey, and the underparts and rump are rufous red. The female and juvenile have a paler grey head, upperparts and wings, a duller head pattern, an orange rump, and buff underparts. The call varies from 1-4 piercing whistles to a series of trills. Adults have bright red eyes, while juveniles have black eyes until mature.
The closely related Drakensberg rockjumper (Chaetops aurantius) does not overlap in range. The male of that species has orange underparts, and the female and young are paler below than the Cape rockjumper.
The rockjumpers are medium-sized insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus Chaetops, which constitutes the entire family Chaetopidae. The two species, the Cape rockjumper, Chaetops frenatus, and the Drakensberg rockjumper, Chaetops aurantius, are endemic residents of southern Africa. The Cape rockjumper is a resident of the West Cape and south-west East Cape, and the orange-breasted rockjumper is distributed in the Lesotho Highlands and areas surrounding them in South Africa. The two rockjumpers have been treated as separate species but differ in size and plumage. The ranges do not overlap, but come close to doing so. Also found in the mountain of a small town Middelburg in the eastern Cape where they are protected because they are endangered species.
The great tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and east across the Palearctic to the Amur River, south to parts of North Africa where it is generally resident in any sort of woodland; most great tits do not migrate except in extremely harsh winters. Until 2005 this species was lumped with numerous other subspecies. DNA studies have shown these other subspecies to be distinct from the great tit and these have now been separated as two distinct species, the cinereous tit of southern Asia, and the Japanese tit of East Asia. The great tit remains the most widespread species in the genus Parus.
The tree swallow is a migratory bird of the family Hirundinidae. Found in the Americas, the tree swallow was first described in 1807 by French ornithologist Louis Vieillot as Hirundo bicolor. It has since been moved to its current genus, Tachycineta, within which its phylogenetic placement is debated. The tree swallow has glossy blue-green upperparts, with the exception of the blackish wings and tail, and white underparts. The bill is black, the eyes dark brown, and the legs and feet pale brown. The female is generally duller than the male, and the first-year female has mostly brown upperparts, with some blue feathers. Juveniles have brown upperparts, and grey-brown-washed breasts. The tree swallow breeds in the US and Canada. It winters along southern US coasts south, along the Gulf Coast, to Panama and the northwestern coast of South America, and in the West Indies.
The Canada jay, also known as the gray jay, grey jay, camp robber, or whisky jack, is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae. It is found in boreal forests of North America north to the tree line, and in the Rocky Mountains subalpine zone south to New Mexico and Arizona. A fairly large songbird, the Canada jay has pale grey underparts, darker grey upperparts, and a grey-white head with a darker grey nape. It is one of three members of the genus Perisoreus, a genus more closely related to the magpie genus Cyanopica than to other birds known as jays. The Canada jay itself has nine recognized subspecies.
The northern mockingbird is a mockingbird commonly found in North America. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather. This species has rarely been observed in Europe. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Turdus polyglottos. The northern mockingbird is known for its mimicking ability, as reflected by the meaning of its scientific name, "many-tongued mimic". The northern mockingbird has gray to brown upper feathers and a paler belly. Its tail and wings have white patches which are visible in flight.
The golden-shouldered parrot, also known as the alwal, arrmorral, minpin, thaku and antbed parrot , is a rare bird of southern Cape York Peninsula, in Queensland, Australia. A small parrot related to the more common hooded parrot of the Northern Territory and the extinct paradise parrot of Queensland and New South Wales.
The mangrove swallow is a passerine bird in the swallow family that breeds in coastal regions from Mexico through Central America to Panama. It has blue-green upperparts, blackish flight feathers, a white rump, a black tail, and white underparts. It can be identified by the supraloral white streak, the white line near its eye, which only occurs in two other species of Tachycineta: the violet-green swallow and the white-rumped swallow. The sexes, although similar in plumage, differ slightly in size. The juveniles have grey-brown upperparts and white-washed underparts. This swallow's song is generally described as a soft trilling, with a rolled jeerrt call, and a sharp alarm note.
The Cape sugarbird is one of the eight bird species endemic to the Fynbos biome of the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa.
The black harrier is a medium-sized African harrier whose range extends from South Africa to Botswana and Namibia. It has a wingspan of 105–115 cm (41–45 in) and a body length of 44–50 cm (17–20 in). When perched, this bird appears all black. However, in flight, a white rump and flight feathers becomes visible. Its morphology is comparable to that of other harriers, with narrow wings, a slim body, and a long tail. Male and female plumages are similar. Juveniles have buff under-parts and heavily spotted breasts.
The grey-faced buzzard is an Asian bird of prey. It is typically 41–46 cm (16–18 in) in length, making it a small-sized raptor. It breeds in Manchuria, Korea and Japan; it winters in South-east Asia.
The yellow-crowned canary is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is a resident breeder in eastern Africa. It was formerly considered conspecific with the Cape canary.
The Drakensberg rockjumper or orange-breasted rockjumper is a medium-sized insectivorous passerine bird endemic to the alpine grasslands and rock outcrops of the Drakensberg Mountains of southeastern South Africa and Lesotho. This taxon is closely related to the allopatric Cape rockjumper Chaetops frenatus; the two species of Chaetops are the only living members of the Chaetopidae.
The Cape siskin is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is an endemic resident breeder in the southern Cape Province of South Africa.
The Drakensberg siskin is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is an endemic resident breeder in the eastern Cape Province Transkei and western Natal in South Africa, and in Lesotho.
The Cape robin-chat is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It has a disjunct range from South Sudan to South Africa.
The Barratt's warbler or African scrub warbler, is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is found in eastern South Africa, Lesotho, eastern Zimbabwe and adjacent western Mozambique. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
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The sociable weaver is a species of bird in the weaver family, endemic to Southern Africa. It is the only species in its genus Philetairus. It is found in South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana, but its range is centered within the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. The species builds large, compound, community nests, a rarity among birds. These nests are perhaps the most spectacular structure built by any bird.
Clutch size refers to the number of eggs laid in a single brood by a nesting pair of birds. The numbers laid by a particular species in a given location are usually well defined by evolutionary trade-offs with many factors involved, including resource availability and energetic constraints. Several patterns of variation have been noted and the relationship between latitude and clutch size has been a topic of interest in avian reproduction and evolution. David Lack and R.E. Moreau were among the first to investigate the effect of latitude on the number of eggs per nest. Since Lack's first paper in the mid-1940s there has been extensive research on the pattern of increasing clutch size with increasing latitude. The proximate and ultimate causes for this pattern have been a subject of intense debate involving the development of ideas on group, individual, and gene-centric views of selection.
Media related to Chaetops frenatus at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Chaetops frenatus at Wikispecies