Forest Batis

Alternative name: Short-tailed Batis, East African Batis, Short-tailed Puffback-Flycatcher
Includes Reichenow's Batis

Photo by Steve G.

Batis mixta

Identification

Sexually dimorphic. Medium sized ( 11 cm. ) Batis. 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 supercillia only over lores. Lores, earcoverts and upper sides of neck black. Chin, throat and lower sides to the neck white. Broad black breastband, of even width. rest of undersides white. Wings have bold white wingbar 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 NW Zambia. Though currently not endangered, this species has a relatively limited distribution within an area that is severely threatened by deforestation and forest fragmentation.

Taxonomy

Batis mixta has two subspecies:¹

• B. M. mixta

• South-eastern Kenya and northern Tanzania to the Usambara, Nguu and Nguru Mountains

• B. m. reichenowi

• South-eastern Tanzania (Mikindani to Lindi)
• Split by Sibley & Monroe² as Reichenow's Batis

Habitat

Evergreen Miombo/Brachystegia forests.

Behaviour

Forest Batis are small arboreal insectivorous birds which glean invertebrates from foliage at the subcanopy & mid levels. They tend to be solitary or live in pairs/small family groups but shun the mixed-species feeding flocks typical of Brachystegia woodland.

Voice Single, low whistle. No "buzzy" notes.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. Sibley, CG and BL Monroe. 1996. Birds of the World, on diskette, Windows version 2.0. Charles G. Sibley, Santa Rosa, CA, USA.

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Forest Batis. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Forest_Batis

External Links

Search for photos of Forest Batis in the gallery