Swamp boubou | |
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A pair in Botswana | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Malaconotidae |
Genus: | Laniarius |
Species: | L. bicolor |
Binomial name | |
Laniarius bicolor (Hartlaub, 1857) | |
Synonyms | |
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The swamp boubou (Laniarius bicolor), also known as the Gabon boubou, is a species of bird in the Malaconotidae or bushshrike family. It is native to western and southern Central Africa. In the north of their range, savannah thickets constitute an important part of their habitat, while in the south they are strongly associated with river systems and marshes, for which they are named. The pair bond appears to be maintained by duetting, [2] which in the south is generally synchronous or overlapping. [3] It is most similar to L. major major, with which it perhaps hybridizes, but the underpart plumage is immaculate white, while the female contributes a ratchet-like note to the duet.
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Gabon, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are regenerating forest, moist to seasonally dry savannah thicket, coastal scrubland and mangroves, and ravine forests of the Angolan escarpment. [2] In the south of its range it is confined to floodplain systems. Along these rivers and swamps they frequent dense, tangled riparian vegetation, [4] edges of reedbeds, papyrus stands or clumps of water fig on islands. [5]
The sexes are similar in appearance. They are large passerines that measure 23 to 25 cm in length. The upperparts are deep blue-black with a slight luster. The long, fluffy rump feathers have concealed white spots, [2] giving the rump a pale appearance. [5] The wings are black with white wing-stripes, and the underparts are pure white. [2] The iris is dark brown, the bill and palate are black, and the legs and feet slate-blue. [5] Juvenile birds have light dusky barring on the underside, and buffy-tipped and barred upperpart plumage. [5] Immatures are duller than adults with buff-tipped wing-coverts and browner bills. [2]
Their larger size, more slender bill, immaculate white underparts, and vocals distinguish them from the tropical boubou where they locally occur together. In those locations the southern race behaves as good species, but somewhat less so with the northern races [6] which are sometimes merged with L. major. [7]
They are monogamous and year-round territorial birds. They forage from ground level to the upper canopy, often working their way up before gliding down to adjacent vegetation. They also hawk insects, or flick ground debris like a thrush. Their food consists of arthropods, insects and worms, and on occasion small fruit. [2] Pairs perform a duet which is initiated by a soft guttural sound, by either sex. [2] The male then gives a short whistle, to which the female immediately replies with a harsh, ratchet-like kick-ick. [5] Harsh clicking sounds are also given at dusk when approaching their roost. Vocals may be augmented by wing fripping in excited birds. Rump feathers are fluffed out during territorial threat or flight-song courtship displays. [2]
Nesting sites are widely spaced. [4] Breeding occurs at any time of the year, [2] though in the south, mainly in spring. [4] The nest is a shallow cup of loosely woven twigs, placed some 2 to 3 meters above ground in a tangle, [2] or in an ornamental bougainvillea shrub. Two eggs are laid, measuring 23 x 20 mm. [4] They are pale cream or greenish in colour, and lightly speckled with rufous. [2] Parasitism by the black cuckoo has been recorded. [2] Moult occurs upon completion of the breeding period.
There are three accepted races: [3]
The black boubou, also known as Somali boubou, Erlanger's boubou or coastal boubou, is a medium-size bushshrike. It was split from the tropical boubou as a result of DNA sequence analysis, and this change in status was recognized by the International Ornithological Committee in 2008. Two colour morphs are recognized, a predominantly black one, the black boubou, and an extremely rare black and yellow morph which was formerly considered a separate species, the Bulo Burti boubou. The black boubou is found in Somalia and northern Kenya.
The southern boubou is a bushshrike. Though these passerine birds and their relations were once included with true shrikes in the Laniidae, they are not closely related to that family.
The pririt batis also known as the pririt puff-back flycatcher or pririt puffback, is a small passerine bird in the wattle-eye family. It is resident in Southern Africa and southwestern Angola.
The bokmakierie is a bushshrike. This family of passerine birds is closely related to the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, and was once included in that group. This species is endemic to southern Africa, mainly in South Africa and Namibia, with an isolated population in the mountains of eastern Zimbabwe and western Mozambique.
The crimson-breasted shrike or the crimson-breasted gonolek,, or the crimson-breasted boubou, is a southern African bird. It has black upper parts with a white flash on the wing, and bright scarlet underparts. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as a "least-concern species".
The tropical boubou or bell shrike is a medium-sized passerine bird of sub-Saharan Africa. This very diverse "species" with its numerous subspecies and morphs has since long posed a taxonomic problem, and recent research suggests it is a cryptic species complex that has now been split into several species.
The rufous-naped lark or rufous-naped bush lark is a widespread and conspicuous species of lark in the lightly wooded grasslands, open savannas and farmlands of the Afrotropics. Males attract attention to themselves by a bold and often repeated wing-fluttering display from a prominent perch, which is accompanied by a melodious and far-carrying whistled phrase. This rudimentary display has been proposed as the precursor to the wing-clapping displays of other bush lark species. They have consistently rufous outer wings and a short erectile crest, but the remaining plumage hues and markings are individually and geographically variable. It has a straight lower, and longish, curved upper mandible.
The black cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. The species is distributed widely across sub-Saharan Africa. There are two subspecies. This cuckoo has a very wide range and is quite common so it is classified as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
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 white-browed robin-chat, also known as Heuglin's robin, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. Found in east, central and southern Africa, its natural habitats include riverine forest and thickets, and it is also found near humans. The IUCN classifies it as a least-concern species.
The black-backed puffback is a species of passerine bird in the family Malaconotidae. They are common to fairly common sedentary bushshrikes in various wooded habitats in Africa south of the equator. They restlessly move about singly, in pairs or family groups, and generally frequent tree canopies. Like others of its genus, the males puff out the loose rump and lower back feathers in display, to assume a remarkable ball-like appearance. They draw attention to themselves by their varied repertoire of whistling, clicking and rasping sounds. Their specific name cubla, originated with Francois Levaillant, who derived it from a native southern African name, where the "c" is an onomatopoeic click sound. None of the other five puffback species occur in southern Africa.
Fülleborn's boubou is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae. It is found in Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia, where its typical habitat is humid montane forest, dense undergrowth, secondary growth, forest edges and bamboo groves. The name of this bird commemorates the German physician Friedrich Fülleborn.
The slate-colored boubou or slate-coloured boubou is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae. It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland.
The grey-headed bushshrike, colloquially known as the ghostbird, is a species of passerine bird in the family Malaconotidae. It is widespread throughout sub-Saharan Africa, although relatively absent in Central Africa and the interior of southern Africa. It is the most widespread species of its genus, which consists of large bushshrikes with massive bills and mournful hooting calls. It occurs sparsely in a range of wooded habitats, though typically in denser vegetation within dry or moist savannah. The monogamous pairs occupy woodland with sufficient cover. They are sedentary, but will undertake limited post-breeding movements.
The yellow-crowned bishop is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is highly sexually dimorphic in its breeding season, during which the male adopts a distinctive yellow and black plumage, contrasting with the female's predominantly brown coloration. Three subspecies are recognised.
The northern fiscal is a member of the shrike family found through most of Sub-Saharan Africa. It used to be grouped with the southern fiscal. Together they were called the common fiscal. The fiscal gets its English and Afrikaans common names from its black and white 'suit-and-tie' appearance reminiscent of the taxman (‘fiscal’).