Alternative names: Rufous-winged Akalat; Rufous-winged Thrush-Babbler
- Illadopsis rufescens
Identification
16 - 17cm. A Thrush-like Babbler, very similar to Puvel's Illadopsis:
- Rufous brown crown, upperparts and tail
- Head side and lores paler brown
- Vague buffy supercilium and whitish streaks on cheek
- Whitish below with brownish-grey tinge on breast and greyish flanks and vent
- Black upper mandible, lower mandible greyish or pinkish-horn with yellow at base
Confusion species
Distinguished from very similar Puvel's Illadopsis by greyer breast and flanks, yellow on lower mandible only basally and, most important, by habitat and voice.
Distribution
Found in west Africa from Senegal east to Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Togo.
Generally uncommon to rare in its range.
Taxonomy
Monotypic.
Habitat
Undergrowth in primary and old logged lowland broadleaf evergreen forest. Prefers open ground in forest. Found at 535 - 1400m in Liberia, 760 - 1220 in Sierra Leone.
Behaviour
Feeds on beetles, grasshoppers, termites and other insects. Takes also small nails and small amphibians.
Usually seen in pairs or family parties, joins sometimes bird-waves. Forages mostly on the ground.
Breeding season unknown, a pair feeding young in December in Sierra Leone, another one in Ivory Coast in February. No information about nest or clutch size.
Resident species.
Vocalisation
Sings high from a tree a simple, pleasant and far-carrying arrangement of 5 to 6 notes as "chk-chk-chk-hu-hu-hu" either all on one pitch or the first three higher. Repeats it constantly.
References
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2007. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553422
- 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.
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Rufous-winged Illadopsis. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Rufous-winged_Illadopsis
