From Opus

Photo by Leon
Location: Pretoria, South Africa. June 2004.

Dryoscopus cubla

[edit] Identification

Length 17-18 cm; Weight 19-36 g.

Size smaller than Fiscal Shrike; tail relatively short; mainly black-and-white.
Male: Above black; rump grayish white; no white eyebrow; wings black-and-white; below white; tail black. Named from the loose feathers on the male's rump and lower back.
Female: Similar to male, but less intensely black; white areas more buff or grayish white.
Immature: Deep buff olive where adults white.

Eyes yellow, orange or red; bill black; legs and feet grey.

[edit] Distribution

Africa south of 5°N.²

[edit] Taxonomy

Dryoscopus cubla has five subspecies:¹

• D. c. affinis
• D. c. nairobiensis
• D. c. hamatus
• D. c. okavangensis
• D. c. cubla

[edit] Habitat

Woodland, thicket and forest.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Diet

The diet includes invertebrates, eaten on the wing.

[edit] Breeding

They nest in a tree or shrub and 2-3 cream eggs are laid.

Male's Display: The male puffs out the white rump feathers "to form a remarkable white ball, then bows, droops vibrating wings, and spreads tail. He makes short 'butterfly' flights with the puff expanded, and may drop vertically through the air with raised wings. Courting birds audibly click their wings" (Zimmerman et al. 1996).

[edit] References

1. Clements JF. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2008. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019
2. Sinclair I & Ryan P. 2003. Birds of Africa south of the Sahara. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0620207299

[edit] External Links