White-tailed crested flycatcher

Last updated

White-tailed crested flycatcher
TrochocercusPlatystiraKeulemans.jpg
Illustration (bird above)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Stenostiridae
Genus: Elminia
Species:
E. albonotata
Binomial name
Elminia albonotata
(Sharpe, 1891)
Synonyms
  • Trochocercus albonotata

The white-tailed crested flycatcher (Elminia albonotata) is a species of bird in the flycatcher family Stenostiridae. It has a discontinuous distribution in eastern Africa. There are three subspecies, E. a. albonotata of central Kenya, and Uganda through to south west Tanzania; E. a. subvaerulea, which ranges from southern Kenya to Malawi and E. a. swynnertoni of Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

The white-tailed crested flycatcher is a small (13 cm) crested flycatcher with a long tail. The wings and crest of are black, the rest of the plumage is grey overall with a white belly, rump and the underside of the tail. The bill is black, the eye dark brown and the legs grey. The call of this species is weak and unstructured.

Gatamayu Forest - Kenya White-tailedCrested-Flycatcher.jpg
Gatamayu Forest - Kenya

Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical evergreen montane forest and surrounding shrubland and bamboo. It is found from 600 m to 1900 m in Tanzania's Udzungwa Mountains, and up to 2700 m elsewhere. Where its range overlaps with the closely related white-bellied crested flycatcher this species is found at higher altitudes and not below 2250 m, where its relative it is absent it ranges as low as 1200 m.

The diet of this species is not well studied, although like most flycatchers it feeds on invertebrates including flies, ants, moths and spiders. They travel in pairs or small family groups, sometimes joining mixed-species feeding flocks. During the breeding season pairs are territorial. They are monogamous, at the start of the season the male displays to the female using its tail and feeds the female. Two eggs are laid in a small nest in the fork of a branch, usually 2 m high in a tree, but up to 6 m. There is a division of labour between the pair, with the female undertaking all the incubation and the male feeding the chicks once they hatch. Chicks fledge after 15 days.

Related Research Articles

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

The African paradise flycatcher is a medium-sized passerine bird. The two central tail feathers of the male are extended into streamers that commonly are more than twice as long as the body. The female tail feathers are of moderate length and without streamers. The upper parts of the male body, wings, and tail are boldly coloured in chestnut or rusty shades, but the underparts and the head are variably grey to blue-gray, with the head of the mature male being darker, commonly glossy black with greenish highlights. The beak and other bare areas, including a wattle ring round the eye, match the colour of the surrounding feathers. The female coloration is similar, though not so showy and glossy and with the head paler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-bellied go-away-bird</span> Species of bird

The white-bellied go-away-bird is a bird of eastern Africa in the family Musophagidae, commonly known as turacos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-tailed silky-flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The long-tailed silky-flycatcher is a passerine bird which occurs only in the mountains of Costa Rica and western Panama, usually from 1,850 m altitude to the timberline. It is a thrush-sized species weighing about 37 g. The silky-flycatchers are related to waxwings, and like that group have soft silky plumage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tambourine dove</span> Species of bird

The tambourine dove is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in woodlands and other thick vegetation in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Its range extends from Senegal east to Ethiopia and Kenya and southwards through eastern Africa to south-eastern South Africa, but it is absent from the drier areas of south-western Africa. There is a population on the Comoros Islands.

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

Stenostiridae, or the fairy flycatchers, are a family of small passerine birds proposed as a result of recent discoveries in molecular systematics. They are also referred to as stenostirid warblers.

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

The African cuckoo or African grey cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa where it migrates within the continent, generally arriving and breeding in any one locality during the rainy season. A fairly common bird, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fischer's turaco</span> Species of bird

Fischer's turaco is a species of bird in the family Musophagidae. It is found in Coastal East Africa, including Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, and arable land. It is threatened by habitat loss and trapping for the wildlife trade.

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

The black-bellied bustard, also known as the black-bellied korhaan, is an African ground-dwelling bird in the bustard family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinspot batis</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-browed robin-chat</span> Species of bird

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.

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

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.

<i>Elminia</i> Genus of birds

Elminia is a genus of bird in the flycatcher family Stenostiridae. The genus is endemic to Africa. It contains the following species:

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

The African blue flycatcher or blue-crested flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Stenostiridae from western and central Sub-Saharan Africa.

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

The black-banded flycatcher, also known as the Timor flycatcher, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. In the past the species was considered to be related to the Australasian robins but this was as the result of convergent evolution. It is endemic to Timor island. The black-banded flycatcher is small with a broad bill and distinctive plumage. The species has a white belly, lower rump and throat with a thin black band across the chest. The tail, neck and wings are black and the back, upper wing and shoulders rich chestnut. The plumage of the head is sexually dichromatic, with the head being black in the males and dark grey in the females. The eye and bill is black and the feet and legs are yellow. The calls consist of soft whistles, some of which sound similar to the Timor stubtail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashy flycatcher</span> Species of bird from Africa

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, or other genera. Ashy flycatchers are mostly grey in colour, with pale grey or white underparts, and display no sexual dimorphism.

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

The white-starred robin is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher and chat family Muscicapidae. It is also sometimes more simply called the starred robin. It is monotypic within the genus Pogonocichla. There are around twelve subspecies. The species is found in East and southern Africa. It is a forest species, occurring in montane forest in the north of its range but closer to sea level further south. This is a brightly coloured robin with a bright yellow breast and belly, a slate coloured head with spots on the eyes and throat and blueish wings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mascarene paradise flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The Mascarene paradise flycatcher is a species of bird in the monarch-flycatcher family Monarchidae. It is endemic to the Mascarene islands of Mauritius and Réunion. There are two subspecies recognized: the nominate subspecies from Réunion, also known as the Réunion paradise flycatcher; and T. b. desolata from Mauritius. The Mascarene paradise flycatcher was originally described in the genus Muscicapa and the subspecies T. b. desolata was originally described as a separate species.

<i>Trochocercus</i> Genus of birds

Trochocercus is a genus of bird in the family Monarchidae. Described by Jean Cabanis in 1850, the name Trochocercus is a combination of the Greek words trokhos meaning "circular" or "round" and kerkos, meaning "tail".

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

The golden-tailed woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. Its specific name commemorates the 5th Earl of Abingdon. It belongs to a species complex that includes the Knysna woodpecker to the south of its range, and the mostly allopatric Mombasa woodpecker to the northeast, with which it perhaps hybridizes.

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

The yellow-crested woodpecker, also known as the golden-crowned woodpecker, is a species of bird in the family Picidae. Some taxonomic authorities place this species in Dendropicos. Its typical habitat is wet tropical forest and it is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Elminia albonotata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22707052A94104630. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22707052A94104630.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.