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'''Young birds''' have a brown cap and a pale yellow bill. | '''Young birds''' have a brown cap and a pale yellow bill. | ||
Revision as of 12:46, 16 June 2012
- Tchagra senegala
Tchagra senegalus
Identification
19-22 cm
They have a mean-looking hooked beak, typical of the Bushshrikes and the same furtive habits.
Adult
- Black crown and eye stripe
- Broad white supercilium
- Pale grey underparts
- Light brown upperparts
- Chestnut wings
- Black tail, tipped white
- Black bill
Sexes are similar
Young birds have a brown cap and a pale yellow bill.
Size, colour of the back, underparts, eyestripe vary according to the subspecies.
Distribution
Africa and the Middle East
Northern Africa: Morocco, Algeria Tunisia, Libya
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin Nigeria, Niger Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland
Middle East: Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia Yemen, Oman
Taxonomy
Subspecies[1]
There are 10 subspecies: which vary in size and the colour of the back, underparts and eyestripe.
- T. s. cucullatus: Coastal Morocco to Algeria and Tunisia
- T. s. percivali: Southern Arabian Peninsula
- T. s. remigialis: Central Chad to central Sudan (Darfur, Kordofan and Nile Valley)
- T. s. nothus: Mali to northern Nigeria and Lake Chad
- T. s. senegalus: Senegal and Sierra Leone to Mali, southern Chad, Central African Republic
- T. s. wardangliensis: Northern Somalia (Warsangli)
- T. s. habessinicus: Southern Sudan (upper Nile Province) to Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia
- T. s. armenus: Southern Cameroon to northern Zaire, southern Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique
- T. s. orientalis: Southern Somalia to eastern Transvaal, Natal and eastern Cape Province
- T. s. kalahari: Southern Angola, northern Namibia, south-western Zambia, north-western Zimbabwe to northern South Africa
Habitat
Farm tracks with bushes and thickets in wetland areas and dry country. Light savannah woodland.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes insects.
Breeding
It builds a cup shaped nest in a tree or bush. The clutch consists of 2-3 heavily marked white eggs. Incubation (mostly by the female) takes 12-15 days; the chicks fledging after a further 15 days.
Vocalisation
Song: descending whistling, Chee-chee chee cheroo cheroo.
References
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Avibase
- Wikipedia
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-crowned Tchagra. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 12 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-crowned_Tchagra
