- Batis dimorpha
Identification
Male
- Grey upperside
- Wing mostly blackish with white outer edges
- Wing bar white due to white median coverts
- Tail black with white outer rectrices
- Head side black
- Breast band black
- Underside white
- Eyes orange to yellow
- Bill black
Female similar, but breast band including flanks and central throat are orange to russet, and the same are wing bars. Additionally, there is a narrow white supercilium.
Similar Species
Cape Batis, Woodwards' Batis, and Dark Batis.
Distribution
Southern Africa: Malawi and adjacent Zambia and Mozambique.
Taxonomy
This species was formerly considered a part of Cape Batis. The split was caused by observing the two forms coexisting in the same area.
Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized[1]:
- B. c. dimorpha
- Mountains of southern Malawi and adjacent Mozambique
- B. c. sola
- Northern Malawi
Habitat
Forests including rainforest and degraded forest including gardens, mostly above 1100 m asl but sometimes down to 800 m.
Behaviour
Mostly a resident species but especially young birds may disperse.
Further studies needed. As far as known, diet most likely consists of insects and other invertebrates, and supplemented locally by whichever mistletoe is present. Foraging mainly by gleaning and sallying, sometimes flycatching, may be alone or sometimes part of a mixed species flock.
Vocalisation
Insufficiently known, but probably uses a monotone whistle.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Kirwan, G. M., M. Louette, J. del Hoyo, and N. Collar (2022). Malawi Batis (Batis dimorpha), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (P. G. Rodewald and B. K. Keeney, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.capbat2.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Malawi Batis. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 6 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Malawi_Batis
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
