Verreaux's Batis - BirdForum Opus

Batis minima

Alternative name: Gabon Batis^[2]

Identification

Smallest Batis (8 cm).

Male: Black forehead, crown and nape. Small white spot at the base of the nape. Back, rump and uppertail coverts steely grey. Thin supercillia over the lores to half way along the top of the earcoverts. Lores and earcoverts black. Chin and throat white, narrow black breast band. Rest of underparts white. Wings as other Batis. Eye yellow, bill and legs black.

Female: Similar to the male except for paler crown, shorter supercillia and grey breastband (the latter is diagnostic of the species).

Distribution

Humid forests of southern Cameroon and western Gabon.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

Habitat

Moist lowland forests.

Behaviour

Vocalisation

Very similar to Bioko Batis apart from not having the buzzy notes at the start .

References

1. Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
2. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2010. IOC World Bird Names (version 2.7). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
3. Sinclair, I and P Ryan. 2003. Birds of Africa South of the Sahara. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691118154

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Verreaux's Batis. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Verreaux%27s_Batis

External Links

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