Alternative name: Broad-tailed Warbler
- Catriscus brevirostris
Schoenicola brevirostris
Identification
Length 15 cm; 15 g
Tail broad and wings short and rounded. Head greyish brown, back rusty brown grading to blackish brown upper tail coverts. Tail very dark brown, tipped buff. Wings dark brown above.
Distribution
Africa south of the Sahara.
Western Africa: found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and Zaire
Eastern Africa: Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi
Southern Africa: Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal and eSwatini
Taxonomy
This is a polytypic species[1] consisting of 2 subspecies.
Considered by some to be conspecific with Broad-tailed Grassbird Schoenicola platyura of Asia.
Subspecies
- C. b. alexinae:
- C. b. brevirostris:
Habitat
Tall grassland.
Behaviour
Generally occurs singly or in pairs. Usually concealed low down in dense grass, but sometimes perches prominently, especially on rainy or misty mornings.
Vocalisation
Song: is distinctive; a slow, metallic zink, zink, zink. Feeds on invertebrates.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533
- Avibase
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Fan-tailed Grassbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 2 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Fan-tailed_Grassbird
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
