- Cossypha caffra
Identification
Photo by Mick Harris
Simba Farm Lodge,West Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, November 2017
Length 16-17 cm (6¼-6¾ in)
- Grey above
- Black sides of face and behind eye
- White supercilium
- Orange chin, throat, central breast, rump, under-tail coverts and outer tail feathers
- Grey-brown central tail feathers
- Pale grey belly
- Black, down curved bill
- Brown iris
- Pink-grey legs and feet
Sexes similar
Juvenile
- Buff-marked dark brown upperparts
- Buff underparts
- Grey-brown breast
Distribution
Africa
Western Africa: found only in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Eastern Africa: South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho and Swaziland
Kenya, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 4-7 subspecies depending on the authority[1]:
- C. c. iolaema:
- Extreme southern South Sudan, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Kenya south to Malawi and northern Mozambique
- C. c. kivuensis:
- Eastern DRC (Kivu highlands) and south-western [[Uganda]
- C. c. namaquensis:
- Southern Namibia to Orange Free State and western Transvaal
- C. c. caffra:
- Southwestern to eastern South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe
The subspecies drakensbergi and vespera along with ardens are generally considered invalid[2].
Habitat
Forest edges, bushveld, scrub and fynbos, gardens and parks.
Behaviour
Breeding
They build a cup-shaped nest from coarse vegetation, lined with animal hair and rootlets.
Diet
The diet includes a wide variety of insects, spiders, caterpillars invertebrates, small frogs, lizards and some fruit and other vegetable matter.
Gallery
Click on photo for larger image
Photo by Charlie Moores
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
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2016)
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Cape Robin-Chat. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Cape_Robin-Chat
