White-browed robin-chat

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White-browed robin-chat
White-browed Robin-Chat (Cossypha heuglini).jpg
Song recorded in Chepareria, Kenya
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
Genus: Cossypha
Species:
C. heuglini
Binomial name
Cossypha heuglini
Hartlaub, 1866

The white-browed robin-chat (Cossypha heuglini), also known as Heuglin's robin, [2] is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. Found in east, central and southern Africa, [3] its natural habitats include riverine forest and thickets, and it is also found near humans. The IUCN classifies it as a least-concern species.

Contents

Taxonomy

Hartlaub described the species from Sudan in 1866. [4] The specific epithet is derived from Martin Theodor von Heuglin. [5] Three subspecies are recognized: Cossypha heuglini subrufescens ranging from Gabon to western Angola; C. h. heuglini from the southern parts of Chad and Sudan to eastern Angola, Botswana, and northern South Africa; and C. h. intermedia from southern Somalia to northeastern South Africa. [3]

Description

Photographed at Queen Elizabeth NP, Uganda White browed robin chat1.jpg
Photographed at Queen Elizabeth NP, Uganda

The white-browed robin-chat is 19–20 cm (7.5–7.9 in) long and weighs 29–51 g (1.0–1.8 oz). [4] The crown and face are black, and there is a white supercilium over the dark brown eye. [4] [6] The back is olive grey-brown, and the rump is rufous. The two central tail feathers are olive-brown, and the other feathers are orange-rufous. The flight feathers and wing coverts are grey-brown, and the underwing coverts are rufous. The underparts are bright orange-rufous. The beak is black, and the legs are pinkish-brown, brownish grey, or dark brown. [4] The female is a little smaller than the male. The juvenile bird has a brown head and rufous-brown marks on its back. Its throat is pale, its breast is pale orange-buff, and its belly is pale orange. [4]

Distribution and habitat

The range includes Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. [1] Its habitats include riverine forests, thickets, and also gardens. [7] In East Africa it can be found up to 2,200 m (7,200 ft) above sea level, but in the part of its range south of the Limpopo River, it generally occurs at elevations below 1,000 m (3,300 ft). [4] In South Africa, its range in KwaZulu-Natal expanded south from the 1950s to the 1970s, but the damage caused by a tropical cyclone in 1987 may have stopped the expansion. [7]

Behavior and ecology

The diet consists of ants, termites, beetles, some other insects and arthropods, frogs, and fruits. It bathes in water. [4]

Vocalizations

The white-browed robin-chat's contact calls include repeated pit-porlee, chiiritter-porlii and da-da-tee and end with da-teee or chickle-ter-tweep. [4] The alarm call is takata-kata-kata. [2] The melodious song, usually given at dawn and dusk, is quiet at first and then becomes louder; it consists of pip-pip-uree, don't-you-do-it or tirrootirree phrases that can be repeated more than ten times. [8] When singing loudly, its beak is wide open and its breast is inflated with its tail moving with each note sung. Pairs may sing in duet. [4]

Breeding

Around the Equator, the bird probably breeds in all months of the year, and in East Africa, it breeds during the two wet seasons. [4] In southern Africa, breeding has been recorded from July to May. [7] It is monogamous. There are usually two and sometimes three broods per year. The female builds the nest, which is made of dead leaves, twigs, and other plant material and built in a tree hole, stump, sapling, roots, riverbank, or on the ground. [4] It has been observed nesting near humans, on occupied buildings' walls and trellises covered with climbing plants. [4] [7] There are two to three eggs in a clutch. The nest is often parasitized by the red-chested cuckoo. This robin-chat is territorial and defends its territory by giving alarm calls and sometimes by attacking the intruder. [4]

Status

C. heuglini has a large range and a stable population trend, so the IUCN Red List has assessed it to be of least concern. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Cossypha</i> Genus of birds

Cossypha are small insectivorous birds, with most species called robin-chats. They were formerly in the thrush family Turdidae, but are now more often treated as part of the Old World flycatcher Muscicapidae.

Rufous-tailed scrub robin Species of bird

The rufous-tailed scrub robin is a medium-sized member of the family Muscicapidae. Other common names include the rufous scrub robin, rufous bush chat, rufous bush robin and the rufous warbler. It breeds around the Mediterranean and east to Pakistan. It also breeds south of the Sahara from the Sahel region east to Somalia; these African birds are sometimes considered to be a separate species, the African scrub robin. It is partially migratory, wintering in Africa and India. This is a very rare visitor to northern Europe.

Orange-winged pytilia Species of bird

The orange-winged pytilia, also known as the golden-backed pytilia, is a species of estrildid finch found in Africa. It has a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed it as being of least concern.

Cape robin-chat Species of bird

The Cape robin-chat is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It has a disjunct range from South Sudan to South Africa. The locally familiar and confiding species has colonized and benefited from a range of man-altered habitats, including city suburbs and farmstead woodlots. It is an accomplished songster like other robin-chats, but is rather less colourful than most, and frequents either drier settings or higher altitudes. It forages in the proximity of cover, in the open or in fairly well-lit environments. Its distribution resembles that of the karoo–olive complex of thrushes, but it prefers the bracken-briar fringes of Afromontane forest, and does not enter far into forest proper. It is altitudinally segregated from the red-capped robin-chat, and is less of a skulker.

The Zulu serotine, also called the Zulu pipistrelle, aloe bat, or aloe serotine, is a species of vesper bat found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, South Sudan, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, moist savanna, and hot deserts.

Rufous-naped lark Species of bird

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 their bold and repeated wing-fluttering displays from prominent perches, 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.

White-browed coucal Species of bird

The white-browed coucal or lark-heeled cuckoo, is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa. It inhabits areas with thick cover afforded by rank undergrowth and scrub, including in suitable coastal regions. Burchell's coucal is sometimes considered a subspecies.

Red-chested cuckoo Species of bird

The red-chested cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is a medium-sized bird found in Africa south of the Sahara. In Afrikaans, it is known as "Piet-my-vrou", after its call.

Rufous-tailed palm thrush Species of bird

The rufous-tailed palm thrush is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae.

The white-headed robin-chat is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in northern Angola and the western Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is threatened by habitat loss, and its IUCN conservation status is vulnerable.

White-throated robin-chat Species of bird

The white-throated robin-chat or white-throated robin is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry savannah and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.

Red-capped robin-chat Species of bird

The red-capped robin-chat or Natal robin is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae.

Rüppells robin-chat Species of bird

Rüppell's robin-chat is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae, that is native to the Afrotropics. It is named for the German naturalist Eduard Rüppell.

White-browed scrub robin Species of bird

The white-browed scrub robin, also known as the red-backed scrub-robin, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa, especially East and southern Africa. Within range, its Turdus-like song is one of the often-heard sounds of the bush. The flitting of the tail is characteristic of this species, but also of some near relatives.

Bearded scrub robin Species of bird

The bearded scrub robin, also known as the eastern bearded scrub robin, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in eastern and southern Africa.

Swamp boubou Species of bird

The swamp boubou, 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, which in the south is generally synchronous or overlapping. It is most similar to L. major subsp. major, with which it perhaps hybridizes, but the underpart plumage is immaculate white, while the female contributes a ratchet-like note to the duet.

Ashy flycatcher Species of bird

The ashy flycatcher is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, excluding the drier areas of South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, where it inhabits subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and savanna. It has a disputed generic placement, with different authorities variously putting it in Muscicapa, Fraseria, and other genera. The species does not display sexual dimorphism, with both sexes being grey in colour with pale grey or white underparts.

Heuglins wheatear Species of bird

Heuglin's wheatear is a small passerine bird in the wheatear genus Oenanthe.

References

  1. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2016). "Cossypha heuglini". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22709822A94224177. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22709822A94224177.en . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Stevenson, Terry; Fanshawe, John (2004). Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi. A&C Black. p. 332. ISBN   9780713673470.
  3. 1 2 Gill, F.; Donsker, D. (eds.). "Chats, Old World flycatchers". IOC World Bird List Version 7.1. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Clement, Peter (2016). Robins and Chats. Bloomsbury. pp. 332–334. ISBN   9781408155967.
  5. Jobling, James A. (2010). Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. Bloomsbury. p. 191. ISBN   9781408133262.
  6. Hancock, Peter; Weiersbye, Ingrid (2015). Birds of Botswana. Princeton University Press. p. 322. ISBN   9781400874170.
  7. 1 2 3 4 T. B. Oatley. "Heuglin's Robin" (PDF). The Atlas of Southern African Birds.
  8. Newman, Kenneth (2002). Newman's Birds of Southern Africa. Struik. p. 344. ISBN   9781868727353.