Namuli apalis | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Cisticolidae |
Genus: | Apalis |
Species: | A. lynesi |
Binomial name | |
Apalis lynesi Vincent, 1933 | |
Synonyms | |
Apalis thoracica lynesi |
The Namuli apalis (Apalis lynesi) is a small African passerine bird belonging to the genus Apalis in the family Cisticolidae. It was formerly considered as a subspecies of the bar-throated apalis.
It is the only bird species endemic to Mozambique and is found only in the Mount Namuli massif in the north of the country where it was first discovered in 1932 by the English-born ornithologist Jack Vincent. There were no more records until an expedition rediscovered it in 1998. The bird is now known to be common in forest, forest edge and woodland patches above 1200 m. Logging of the forest is a potential threat but it appears to survive well in degraded and fragmented habitat.
It has a grey crown and nape and black throat and breast. The rest of the underparts are yellow and the upperparts are green. The outer tail-feathers are white. The bird is 11 to 12 cm (4.3 to 4.7 in) long. The male and female have different calls and duet with the female responding to the male's call.
It feeds mainly on insects and other small invertebrates but also eats some seeds and berries. It forages in pairs or small groups, often feeding on the ground or making short flights into the air.
The nest is a dome of moss built at least one metre above the ground.
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The bar-throated apalis is a small African passerine bird belonging to the genus Apalis of the family Cisticolidae. It is native to the eastern and southern Afrotropics.
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Jack Vincent was an English ornithologist.
Mount Namuli is the second highest mountain in Mozambique and the highest in the Province of Zambezia. It is 2,420 m (7,940 ft) high and was measured, surveyed and described in 1886 by Henry Edward O'Neill, the British consul in Mozambique. The Namuli massif consists of a level plateau with the granite dome of Mount Namuli above. The area was historically clad in tropical rainforest and is an important biodiversity hotspot with many endemic species of animals and plants. The lower slopes are now mainly used for the cultivation of tea and the middle slopes for other agricultural purposes, with indigenous forest now mostly restricted to the higher parts and corridors along water courses.
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