- Cossypha caffra
Identification
Photo © by Mick Harris
Simba Farm Lodge,West Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, 28 November 2017
Length 16-17 cm (6¼-6¾ in)
Adult
- 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
- Spotted buff-marked dark brown upperparts
- Scaled dusky underparts
- Grey-brown breast
Similar Species
- White-browed Robin-Chat has longer white supercilium and more extensive orange underparts.
- White-throated Robin-Chat has white throat and wing stripe.
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
Robin-chats were formerly classified as members of the Thrush family (Turdidae), but as first proposed by Sibley and Monroe (1991) are now usually recognized as members of the Old World Flycatchers (Muscicapidae). Some authors place this species in the genus Dessonornis following application of controversial criteria proposed by Tobias et al. (2010). This is a polytypic species.
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
- Darker than nominate.
- C. c. kivuensis:
- Eastern DRC (Kivu highlands) and south-western [[Uganda]
- Like iolaema but more richly colored below.
- C. c. namaquensis:
- Southern Namibia to Orange Free State and western Transvaal
- Like nominate but larger with stronger supercilium
- C. c. caffra:
- Southwestern to eastern South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe
- Generally paler than iolaema and kivuensis; smaller than namaquensis.
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
- Collar, N. (2018). Cape Robin-chat (Dessonornis caffer). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/58442 on 24 June 2018).
- Sibley, C. G. and Monroe, B. L . 1991. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. Yale University Press, New Haven and London.
- Sinclair, I., Hockey, P.A.R., and Arlott, N. (2005). The Larger Illustrated Guide to Birds of Southern Africa. Struik, Cape Town. ISBN 978-1775840992
- Tobias, J. A., Seddon, N., Spottiswoode, C. N., Pilgrim, J. D., Fishpool, L. D. C. and Collar, N. J. 2010. Quantitative criteria for species delimitation. Ibis 152: 724–746.
- 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
