From Opus

Photo by Charlie Moores

Cossypha caffra

[edit] Identification

Length 16-17 cm

• Grey above
• Black sides of face and behind eye
• White supercilium
• Orange chin, throat, central breast, rump, under-tail coverts and outer tail feathers
• Grey-brown central tail feathers
• Pale grey belly
• Black, down curved bill
• Brown iris
• Pink-grey legs and feet
  

Juvenile
Photo by Alan Manson
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, December 2007

Sexes similar
Juvenile

• Buff-marked dark brown upperparts
• Buff underparts
• Grey-brown breast

[edit] Distribution

Africa
Western Africa: found only in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho and Swaziland Kenya, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

There are 4-7 subspecies depending on the authority:

• C. c. iolaema:

• Mountains of extreme southern Sudan to Kenya, Zambia and Mozambique

• C. c. kivuensis:

• Eastern Zaire (Kivu highlands) and south-western [[Uganda]

• C. c. drakensbergi:

• Natal-Transvaal border to eastern Transvaal

• C. c. vespera:

• Highlands of eastern Zimbabwe

• C. c. namaquensis:

• Southern Namibia to Orange Free State and western Transvaal

• C. c. caffra:

• Natal to Swaziland and Cape Province

However, of those, subspecies drakensbergi and vespera along with ardens are generally considered invalid^[2].

[edit] Habitat

Forest edges, bushveld, scrub and fynbos, gardens and parks.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Breeding

It builds a cup-shaped nest from coarse vegetation, lined with animal hair and rootlets.

[edit] Diet

The diet includes insects, spiders, invertebrates, small frogs, lizards and some fruit.

[edit] References

1. 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.
2. Avibase
3. Wikipedia

• List of references

[edit] External Links