- Tchagra senegalus
Tchagra senegala
Identification
19-22 cm
They have a mean-looking hooked beak, typical of the Bushshrikes and the same furtive habits.
Adult
- Black crown and eye stripe
- Broad white supercilium
- Pale grey underparts
- Light brown upperparts
- Chestnut wings
- Black tail, tipped white
- Black bill
Sexes are similar
Young birds have a brown cap and a pale yellow bill.
Size, colour of the back, underparts, eyestripe vary according to the subspecies.
Distribution
Africa and the Middle East
Northern Africa: Morocco, Algeria Tunisia, Libya
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin Nigeria, Niger Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland
Middle East: Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia Yemen, Oman
Taxonomy
Subspecies[1]
There are 10 subspecies: which vary in size and the colour of the back, underparts and eyestripe.
- T. s. cucullatus: Coastal Morocco to Algeria and Tunisia
- T. s. percivali: Southern Arabian Peninsula
- T. s. remigialis: Central Chad to central Sudan (Darfur, Kordofan and Nile Valley)
- T. s. nothus: Mali to northern Nigeria and Lake Chad
- T. s. senegalus: Senegal and Sierra Leone to Mali, southern Chad, Central African Republic
- T. s. warsangliensis: Northern Somalia (Warsangli)
- T. s. habessinicus: Eastern Sudan and eastern South Sudan to Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and northwestern Somalia
- T. s. armenus: Southern Cameroon south to Angola, and east to northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, western South Sudan, Uganda, western Kenya, and Tanzania, south to Malawi, northern Mozambique, and northern Zimbabwe
- T. s. orientalis: Southern Somalia to eastern Transvaal, Natal and eastern Cape Province
- T. s. kalahari: Southern Angola, northern Namibia, south-western Zambia, north-western Zimbabwe to northern South Africa
Habitat
Farm tracks with bushes and thickets in wetland areas and dry country. Light savannah woodland.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes insects.
Breeding
It builds a cup shaped nest in a tree or bush. The clutch consists of 2-3 heavily marked white eggs. Incubation (mostly by the female) takes 12-15 days; the chicks fledging after a further 15 days.
Vocalisation
Song: descending whistling, Chee-chee chee cheroo cheroo.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Wikipedia
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-crowned Tchagra. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-crowned_Tchagra
