Abyssinian Slaty Flycatcher - BirdForum Opus

Photo by peterday
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2013

Melaenornis chocolatinus

Dioptrornis chocolatinus

Identification

15cm

• Dark-brown upperparts
• Greyish belly
• Light under the rump
• Buffy breast.

Distribution

Eastern Africa: found in Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Taxonomy

Two subspecies usually recognized:

• M. c. chocolatinus:

• High plateau of southern Eritrea to western and central Ethiopia

• M. c. reichenowi:

• Highlands of western Ethiopia (Wallegha to Gimirra)

This species was formerly placed in genus Dioptrornis.

Habitat

Humid, highland and mid-altitude forest and woods and coffee plantations to a height of 2,500m.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes flying insects which it hunts from a perch.

Breeding

It builds a cup-shaped nest placed at a narrow fork of a horizontal tree branch. The clutch consists of 3 blue-grey, blotched eggs.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. Answers.com

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Abyssinian Slaty Flycatcher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 1 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Abyssinian_Slaty_Flycatcher

External Links

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