Alternative names: Dappled Robin; Dappled Mountain Robin; Mottled Robin
- Arcanator orostruthus
Identification
17 - 19cm. A dark greenish-olive babbler-like passerine with uncertain affinities:
- Crown, face and upperparts greenish-olive
- Upperwing rufescent brown
- Tail cholcolate-chestnut
- Pale yellowish throat with indistinctive soft greyish-olive mottling
- Breast and belly pale sulphur-tinted and heavily marked with soft-edged dark spots and streaks
Sexes similar. Juveniles appear rather uniformly olive.
Distribution
Very locally in Mozambique and Tanzania.
Vulnerable. Global population estimated at 10'000 to 20'000 birds.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 3 subspecies:
- A. o. amani in the eastern Usambara Mountains in northeast Tanzania
- A. o. sanjei in the Udzungwa Mountains in south Tanzania
- A. o. orosthruthus around Mount Namuli in north Mozambique
Also placed in genus Modulatrix but maybe not a Babbler at all. Has been placed within the Bulbuls or the Thrushes. New research show relationsship to the Sugarbirds.
Habitat
Wet luxuriant montane evergreen forest, usually near streams. Found at 900 - 1800m.
Behaviour
Vulnerable to disturbance.
Diet
Feeds on invertebrates. Forages on the ground.
Breeding
Almost no information about breeding. Juveniles seen in November.
Resident species.
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2007. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553422
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Dapple-throat. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Dapple-throat
