Alternative name: Short-tailed Batis, East African Batis, Short-tailed Puffback-Flycatcher
- Batis mixta
Includes Reichenow's Batis
Identification
Medium sized (11 cm)
Sexually dimorphic.
Male has slaty grey forehead, crown, nape - paler on the forehead and fore crown - back rump and uppertail coverts. Small whitish tips to the rump make it look chequered. Short, white supercilium only over lores. Lores, ear coverts and upper sides of neck black. Chin, throat and lower sides to the neck white. Broad black breast band, of even width. rest of undersides white. Wings have bold white wing bar caused by inner two greater coverts and median coverts white. Tertials black with broad white margins. Tail black with white margins to the outer feathers. Eye bright red, bills and legs black.
Female has crown and nape paler than males, broader white supercillia that reach to the rear of the ear coverts. Rest of the upperparts are rufous chestnut. Chin and throat white. Upper breast washed chestnut that deepens on the lower breast and flanks. Rest of underparts white. Wings chestnut with black centres to the tertials. Bare parts as male.
As with all Batises, females are easier to identify than males.
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 north-westernZambia.
Though currently not endangered, this species has a relatively limited distribution within an area that is severely threatened by deforestation and forest fragmentation.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Batis mixta has two subspecies:1
- B. M. mixta
- B. m. reichenowi
- South-eastern Tanzania (Mikindani to Lindi)
- Split by Sibley & Monroe2 as Reichenow's Batis
Habitat
Evergreen Miombo/Brachystegia forests.
Behaviour
They tend to be solitary or live in pairs/small family groups but shun the mixed-species feeding flocks typical of Brachystegia woodland.
Diet
Forest Batis are small arboreal insectivorous birds which glean invertebrates from foliage at the subcanopy and mid levels.
Vocalisation
Single, low whistle. No "buzzy" notes.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2013. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.8., with updates to August 2013. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Sibley, CG and BL Monroe. 1996. Birds of the World, on diskette, Windows version 2.0. Charles G. Sibley, Santa Rosa, CA, USA.
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Forest Batis. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Forest_Batis
