Karoo prinia

Last updated

Karoo prinia
Karoo (Spotted) Prinia (10537833606).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cisticolidae
Genus: Prinia
Species:
P. maculosa
Binomial name
Prinia maculosa
(Boddaert, 1783)

The Karoo prinia or spotted prinia (Prinia maculosa) is a small passerine bird. It is a resident breeder in South Africa, Lesotho and far southern Namibia.

Contents

It is a species found in karoo scrub, fynbos and bracken-covered slopes in semi-desert and mountains. The former eastern subspecies P. m. hypoxantha is now usually considered to be a separate species, the Drakensberg prinia, P. hypoxantha.

Taxonomy

The Karoo prinia was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1779 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux . [2] The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle, which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. [3] Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Montacilla maculosa in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. [4] Buffon believed that his specimen had come from the Cape of Good Hope. The type locality was changed to Swellendam, in South Africa, by Phillip Clancey in 1963. [5] [6] The Karoo prinia is now placed in the genus Prinia that was introduced by the American naturalist Thomas Horsfield in 1821. [7] [8] The name of the genus is derived from the Javanese prinya, the local name for the bar-winged prinia (Prinia familiaris). The specific maculosa is from the Latin maculosus meaning "spotted". [9]

Three subspecies are recognised: [8]

Description

In Rondevlei Nature Reserve, Cape Town, South Africa Prinia maculosa -Rondevlei Nature Reserve, Cape Town, South Africa-8.jpg
In Rondevlei Nature Reserve, Cape Town, South Africa

The Karoo prinia is 13–15 cm (5.1–5.9 in) long, with short rounded wings, a longish tail, strong legs and a short straight black bill. The head has a whitish eyebrow and the upperparts are otherwise brown. The throat and lower face are whitish with dark streaking and the rest of the underparts are yellowish white or yellow with distinct black streaking. The long tail has a dark spot near the end and is typically cocked up at an angle. The feet and legs are pinkish-brown, and the eye is dark brown. The sexes are identical, but juveniles are much yellower below than the adults and less heavily streaked.

The calls of this species include a sharp chleet-chleet-chleet-chleet-chleet-chleet, and a fast buzzy tit-tit-tit-tit-tit.

The Karoo prinia can only be confused with the closely related Drakensberg prinia, but has less yellow underparts with heavier spotting than that species.

Behaviour

The Karoo prinia builds a thin-walled oval nest with a side entrance from green grass. It is well hidden deep inside a leafy shrub or bush. Breeding is from August to September in areas with winter rainfall, but later (up to December) elsewhere.

The Karoo prinia is usually seen in pairs or small groups, typically low in scrub, but sometimes perching on the top of a bush. It actively forages for small insects, with tail cocked and frequently swung side-to-side.

Conservation status

This common species has a large range, with an estimated extent of 670,000 km2. The population size is believed to be large, and the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common green magpie</span> Species of bird

The common green magpie is a member of the crow family, roughly about the size of the Eurasian jay or slightly smaller. In the wild specimens are usually a bright green colour, slightly lighter on the underside and has a thick black stripe from the bill to the nape. Compared to the other members of its genus, the white-tipped tail is quite long. This all contrasts vividly with the red fleshy eye rims, bill and legs. The wings are reddish maroon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common grasshopper warbler</span> Species of bird

The common grasshopper warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds across much of temperate Europe and the western Palearctic. It is migratory, wintering in north and west Africa.

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

The black-headed lapwing or black-headed plover is a large lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is a resident breeder across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia, although it has seasonal movements. It lays two or three eggs on a ground scrape.

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

The grey-headed chickadee or Siberian tit, formerly Parus cinctus, is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread resident breeder throughout subarctic Scandinavia and the northern Palearctic, and also into North America in Alaska and the far northwest of Canada. It is a conifer specialist. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate. Curiously, the bird has no grey on its head, which is black, white, and brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western plantain-eater</span> Species of bird

The western plantain-eater, also known as the gray plantain-eater or western gray plantain-eater, is a large member of the turaco family, a group of large arboreal near-passerine birds restricted to Africa.

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

The white-naped woodpecker is woodpecker which is a widespread but a scarce breeder in the Indian Subcontinent. It is associated with open forest and scrub with some trees. It nests in a tree hole, laying one or two white eggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diederik cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The diederik cuckoo, formerly dideric cuckoo or didric cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners and the anis.

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

The African pygmy kingfisher is a small insectivorous kingfisher found in the Afrotropics, mostly in woodland habitats.

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

The great-billed parrot also known as Moluccan parrot or island parrot, is a medium-sized, approximately 38 cm long, green parrot with a massive red bill, cream iris, blackish shoulders, olive green back, pale blue rump and yellowish green underparts. The female is typically smaller than the male, but otherwise the sexes are similar.

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

The greater striped swallow is a large swallow that is native to Africa south of the equator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banded martin</span> Species of bird

The banded martin or banded sand martin is a small passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae that is endemic to Africa. It is the only species placed in the genus Neophedina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luzon hornbill</span> Species of bird

The Luzon hornbill, sometimes called Luzon tarictic hornbill, is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is endemic to forests on Luzon and nearby islands in the northern Philippines. As is the case with all Philippine tarictic hornbills, it has been considered a subspecies of P. panini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violet-necked lory</span> Species of bird

The violet-necked lory is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is endemic to Indonesia, where it is found in the northern Maluku Islands and west Papuan islands. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests and tropical mangrove forests.

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

The rufous-throated antbird is a species of bird in the family Thamnophilidae. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

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

The fulvous shrike-tanager is a South American bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helmeted pygmy tyrant</span> Species of bird

The helmeted pygmy tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest.

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

The Nubian woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is distributed widely in Central and Eastern Africa, from Chad in west to Somalia in east and Tanzania in south. It is a fairly common species with a wide range, the population seems stable, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

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

The olive woodpecker is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acacia pied barbet</span> Species of bird

The acacia pied barbet or pied barbet is a species of bird in the family Lybiidae which is native to southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine magpie-robin</span> Species of bird

The Philippine magpie-robin is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. It used to be considered a subspecies of the Oriental magpie-robin.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2016). "Prinia maculosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22713626A94383881. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22713626A94383881.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de (1779). "La petite fauvette tachetée du Cap de Bonne-Espérance". Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux (in French). Vol. 9. Paris: De L'Imprimerie Royale. p. 233.
  3. Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de; Martinet, François-Nicolas; Daubenton, Edme-Louis; Daubenton, Louis-Jean-Marie (1765–1783). "Fauvette tachetée, du Cap de Bonne-Esperance". Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle. Vol. 8. Paris: De L'Imprimerie Royale. Plate 752 Fig. 2.
  4. Boddaert, Pieter (1783). Table des planches enluminéez d'histoire naturelle de M. D'Aubenton : avec les denominations de M.M. de Buffon, Brisson, Edwards, Linnaeus et Latham, precedé d'une notice des principaux ouvrages zoologiques enluminés (in French). Utrecht. p. 47, Number 752 Fig. 2.
  5. Clancey, P.A. (1963). "Notes, mainly systematic, on some birds from the Cape Province". Durban Museum Novitates. 6 (19): 244–264 [257].
  6. Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1986). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 147.
  7. Horsfield, Thomas (1821). "Systematic arrangement and description of birds from the Island of Java". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 13: 133–200 [165]. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1821.tb00061.x. Title page dated 1822
  8. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Grassbirds, Donacobius, Malagasy warblers, cisticolas, allies". IOC World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  9. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 237, 316. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.