Namaqua warbler

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Namaqua warbler
Phragmacia substriata, Brandvlei, Birding Weto, a.jpg
At Brandvlei, Northern Cape, South Africa
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cisticolidae
Genus: Phragmacia
Brooke & Dean, 1990
Species:
P. substriata
Binomial name
Phragmacia substriata
(Smith, 1842)

The Namaqua warbler (Phragmacia substriata), also known as the Namaqua prinia or white-breasted prinia, is a small passerine bird, a cisticolid warbler and the sole member of the genus Phragmacia. It was formerly placed in the genus Prinia , but was found to be sufficiently distinct to warrant a genus of its own.

Contents

Description

The Namaqua warbler is 12–13 cm long, with short rounded wings, a long tail, strong legs and a short straight black bill. The head has a whitish eyebrow and the upperparts are otherwise a rich russet brown. The throat and lower face are whitish with no streaking, and the breast is white with faint streaking. The rear flanks are buff. The long, brown tail is typically cocked up at an angle. The feet and legs are pinkish-brown, and the eye is brown. The sexes are identical, but juveniles are duller than the adults. The calls include a high-pitched treeep-treep-trrrrrr.

The Namaqua warbler can only be confused with the Karoo prinia, but that species has a shorter, less whispy tail, duller brown back and buff tips to the undertail feathers.

Distribution and habitat

Namaqua warbler in typical habitat; dense cover in a Karoo watercourse Warbler Namaqua 2015 01 24.jpg
Namaqua warbler in typical habitat; dense cover in a Karoo watercourse

This is a resident breeder in western South Africa and southern Namibia. It is a species endemic to the Karoo in thick bushes in dry river gullies and reedbeds near rivers and dams.

Behaviour

The warbler is usually seen in pairs or small groups, typically low in scrub, foraging for small insects, with tail cocked.

Conservation status

This common species has a large range, with an estimated extent of 380,000 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

<i>Prinia</i> Genus of birds

Prinia is a genus of small insectivorous birds belonging to the passerine bird family Cisticolidae. They were at one time classed in the Old World warbler family, Sylviidae.

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

The family Cisticolidae is a group of about 160 warblers, small passerine birds found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They were formerly included within the Old World warbler family Sylviidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plain prinia</span> Species of bird

The plain prinia, also known as the plain wren-warbler or white-browed wren-warbler, is a small cisticolid warbler found in southeast Asia. It is a resident breeder from Pakistan and India to south China and southeast Asia. It was formerly included in the tawny-flanked prinia, resident in Africa south of the Sahara. The two are now usually considered to be separate species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jungle prinia</span> Species of bird

The jungle prinia is a small passerine bird, a warbler in the family Cisticolidae.

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

The grey-breasted prinia or Franklin's prinia is a wren-warbler belonging to the family of small passerine birds found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. This prinia is a resident breeder in the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka and southeast Asia. Like other prinias, it often holds the tail upright but it is easily told by a smoky grey band across the breast which contrasts with a white throat. The beak is all black while the legs are pink. The tail is graduated as in other prinias and the grey feathers are tipped in white. In the breeding plumage the upperparts are grey while non-breeding birds are pale above with rufous wings and a weak supercilium. It is found in scrub, forest clearings and other open but well vegetated habitats. It can be confused with the rufescent prinia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tawny-flanked prinia</span> Species of bird

The tawny-flanked prinia is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Prinia in the family Cisticolidae, a family of Old World warblers. It is widespread and common in most parts of Africa south of the Sahara. The plain prinia of southern Asia was formerly included in this species but is now usually considered to be a separate species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graceful prinia</span> Species of bird

The graceful prinia is a small warbler. This prinia is a resident breeder in northeastern Africa and southern Asia, from Egypt and Somalia east to Saudi Arabia, where it is sometimes called streaked wren-warbler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karoo prinia</span> Species of bird

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drakensberg prinia</span> Species of bird

The Drakensberg prinia or saffron-breasted prinia is a small passerine bird. It lives in eastern South Africa and Eswatini.

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

The yellow-bellied eremomela is an Old World warbler. However, the taxonomy of the "African warblers", an assemblage of usually species-poor and apparently rather ancient "odd warblers" from Africa is currently in a state of flux. Today, most taxonomists consider members in this genus members of the family Cisticolidae.

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

The rufous-eared warbler is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. It is the only species in the genus Malcorus. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.

The swamp grass babbler or swamp prinia is a small bird of the Indian subcontinent. Some authorities consider it a subspecies of the rufous-vented grass babbler.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2016). "Phragmacia substriata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22713658A94385104. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22713658A94385104.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.