From Opus

Dicrurus ludwigii

Photo by Alan Manson
Mkhuze Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

[edit] Identification

Length 19 cm; mass 18-41 g.

Adult: Glossy black; tail slightly forked; The bill is black with a hooked tip, the eyes deep red, and the legs and feet are black.

The distinctive call includes twanging and whistled notes; also mimics other calls.

[edit] Distribution

Africa south of the Sahara.

[edit] Taxonomy

Five subspecies:

• D. l. sharpei (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda);
• D. l. muenzneri;
• D. l. saturnus (Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Zambia);
• D. l. ludwigi (eastern South Africa and Swaziland); and
• D. l. tephrogaster (Mozambique and eastern Zimbabwe highlands).

[edit] Habitat

Forest and thicket.

[edit] Behaviour

Solitary or in pairs; noisy and aggressive, mobs raptors. Hawks for insects from a perch in the mid-stratum; also feeds on nectar.

Breeding: Monogamous and territorial. The nest is a neat cup of fine plant material, lichen and spider web, built by both adults. Two to three eggs are laid September to January.

[edit] References

Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ & Ryan PG (eds) 2005. Robert's Birds of Southern Africa, 7th edition. John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town, South Africa. ISBN 0620340533

Lepage D. 2008. Avibase. Search for "Dicrurus ludwigii" downloaded 6 May 2008.

Sinclair I, Ryan P. 2003. Birds of Africa south of the Sahara. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0 620 20729 9

[edit] External Links