| Eastern black-headed batis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Platysteiridae |
| Genus: | Batis |
| Species: | B. minor |
| Binomial name | |
| Batis minor Erlanger, 1901 | |
The eastern black-headed batis (Batis minor) is a passerine bird in the family Platysteiridae from eastern Africa. It was formerly treated as conspecific with the western black-headed batis.
The eastern black-headed batis was described by the German ornithologist Carlo von Erlanger in 1901 who considered the taxon as a subspecies of the grey-headed batis (Batis orientalis) and introduced the trinomial name Batis orientalis minor. [2]
Two subspecies are recognised: [3]
The eastern black-headed batis is 10 cm (3.9 in) in length and weighs 9.3–13.8 g (0.33–0.49 oz). [4] It is a small, stocky, rather restless, flycatcher like bird with a white, black and grey plumage. The forehead, crown and nape are blackish grey with a white supercilium and loral spot, the mask is glossy bluish black and there is a white spot on the nape. The mantle and back are dark grey with a paler rump, females have a greyer mantle. The underparts are white with a glossy black breast band, which is dark reddish brown in the females. The tail is black with white outer tail feathers while the wings are mainly black with a white stripe. The bill and legs are black and the eyes are yellow. Juveniles are similar to females but browner. [5]
The eastern black-headed batis occurs in a wide variety of habitats so long as trees are present. These vary from arid savannah woodlands through to juniper on the edge of montane evergreen forest, and including parks and gardens. [5]
The eastern black-headed batis' biology is little known, they are seemingly typical batises and live in pairs or small family groups. [5] Its diet is insects which it forages for by searching foliage or flycatching. [4]
Platysteiridae is a family of small, stout passerine birds of the African tropics. The family contains the wattle-eyes, batises and shrike-flycatchers. They were previously classed as a subfamily of the Old World flycatchers, Muscicapidae. These insect-eating birds are usually found in open forests or bush. They hunt by flycatching, or by taking prey from the ground like a shrike. The nest is a small neat cup, placed low in a tree or bush.
The tiger shrike or thick-billed shrike is a small passerine bird which belongs to the genus Lanius in the shrike family, Laniidae. It is found in wooded habitats across eastern Asia. It is a shy, often solitary bird which is less conspicuous than most other shrikes. Like other shrikes it is predatory, feeding on small animals. Its nest is built in a tree and three to six eggs are laid.
Batis is a genus of passerine birds in the wattle-eye family. Its species are resident in Africa south of the Sahara. They were previously classed as a subfamily of the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae.
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.
The white-tailed shrike is a small passerine bird from the family Platysteiridae. It is also known as the chatshrike or ground batis. It occurs only in western Angola and Namibia in thorn scrub. It forages from ground level, where it hops about in large bounds and upright posture, to 25m above ground, scanning for insects. The very short tail, with a small black mark at the tip of the central two feathers, is always carried down, never sticking up. Its range of calls includes loud ringing territorial whistles.
Woodward's batis, also known as Woodwards' batis or the Zululand batis, is a species of small bird in the wattle-eyes family, Platysteiridae. It occurs in southeastern Africa where it is found in woodlands and forests.
The Ituri batis or Chapin's batis is a species of bird in the wattle-eye family, Platysteiridae which is found in the humid forests of eastern central Africa.
Margaret's batis or Boulton's batis, is a species of small passerine bird in the wattle-eyes family, Platysteiridae. It is found in south western central Africa.
The Gabon batis or Verreaux's batis, is a species of small bird in the family Platysteiridae. It occurs in the humid forests of western Central Africa.
The Angolan batis is a species of bird in the family Platysteiridae. It is found in western central Africa.
The forest batis or short-tailed batis is a species of bird in the wattle-eye family, Platysteiridae occurring in eastern Africa.
The chinspot batis is a small songbird of the genus Batis in the family Platysteiridae which is a common and widespread species in the woodlands of southern Africa from the Eastern Cape north to 3°N in southern Kenya and Gabon. It forms a superspecies with other rather similar members of the genus Batis.
The grey-headed batis is a species of bird in the wattle-eyes family, Platysteiridae, it was previously classified with the Old World flycatchers in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in eastern and central Africa.
The pygmy batis is a very small insectivorous bird which finds its food foraging among leaves, it is a member of the wattle-eyes family, the Platysteiridae. It occurs in the dry savannahs of north-eastern Africa.
The Fernando Pó batis, also known as the Bioko batis, is a species of bird in the family Platysteiridae. It is endemic to the island of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea.
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.
The pale batis, also known as the Mozambique batis or East coast batis is a species of small bird in the wattle-eyes family, Platysteiridae. It occurs in eastern Africa, mostly in lowland miombo woodland.
The dark batis is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Batis in the wattle-eye family, Platysteiridae. It is found in highland forest in south-west Tanzania, northern Malawi, and northern Mozambique. These birds were formerly thought to be forest batises but in 2006 were described as a new species based on differences in morphology and mitochondrial DNA from those birds in northern Tanzania and Kenya.
The western black-headed batis or Von Erlanger's batis, is a species of passerine bird in the wattle-eye family Platysteiridae. It is found over an extensive area of central Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and moist savanna. It was formerly treated as conspecific with the eastern black-headed batis.
The Himalayan shrike-babbler is a bird species found in the western Himalayas that belongs to the shrike-babbler group. The genus was once considered to be an aberrant Old World babbler and placed in the family Timaliidae until molecular phylogenetic studies showed them to be closely related to the vireos of the New World, leading to their addition in the family Vireonidae. Males and females have distinctive plumages, with the males being all black about with a cinnamon-rufous tertial patch and a distinctive white stripe running from behind the eye. The underside is whitish with some pinkish buff on the flanks. Females have a greyish head, lack the white stripe and have the upperparts and wings with greens, yellow and chestnut. The species is part of a cryptic species complex that was earlier considered as one species, white-browed shrike-babbler with several subspecies.
