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Northern Puffback - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Steve G
Bird Safari Camp, Georgetown, The Gambia, November 2005
Dryoscopus gambensis

Identification

Female
Photo © by Volker sthamer
Kidepo, Uganda, 16 January, 2024

18–19 cm (7-7½ in)

  • Loose feathers on the lower back and rump which it puffs out
  • Dull white underparts
  • Grey rump and scapulars
  • Orange-red eyes

Similar species

Subspecies erythreae
Photo by rdavis
Aregash Lodge, Yergalum, Ethiopia, January 2015

Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa between 15°N and 7°S: From Senegal in the west to Ethiopia, Eritrea and Kenya in the east and Democratic Republic of Congo in the south.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are four subspecies[1]:

  • D. g. gambensis:
  • D. g. congicus:
  • D. g. malzacii:
  • D. g. erythreae:

Habitat

Dense savanna woodland, mangroves, bamboo groves and thickets.

Behaviour

Their diet consists mostly of insects, such as caterpillars, grasshoppers and beetles; in addition to plant buds.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2016)
  3. TheWebsiteofEverything

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

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