Alternative name: Short-tailed Batis
- Batis mixta
Identification
A very small, dumpy, short-tailed batis which, unlike all other batis in its range, has an orange-red eye.
Distribution
This bird ranges from the coastal forest of Arabuko-Sokoke south to the Shimba hills in coastal Kenya and into Tanzania's Usambara mountains and west to Uluguru and northern Malawi and, possibly extreme NW Zambia. Though currently not endangered, this species has a relatively limited distribution within an area that is severely threatened by deforestation and forest fragmentation.
Taxonomy
Batis mixta has two subspecies:1
- B. m. ultima
- Coastal south-eastern Kenya
- B. M. mixta
- Highlands of southern Kenya to northern Tanzania and northern Malawi
Habitat
Evergreen Miombo/Brachystegia forests.
Behaviour
Forest Batis are small arboreal insectivorous birds which glean invertebrates from foliage at the subcanopy & mid levels. They tend to be solitary or live in pairs/small family groups but shun the mixed-species feeding flocks typical of Brachystegia woodland.
References
- Clements, JF. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Forest Batis. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 22 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Forest_Batis
