Yellow-bellied Eremomela
Eremomela icteropygialis
Small, fairly nondescript bird with a typical warbler shape. The upperparts are gray or olive-green, the breast is pale gray, and the belly shows a variable amount of yellow. Note the dark brownish eye. Found in a wide variety of savanna and woodland habitats, ranging from dry to moist. Active, restless bird that often joins mixed flocks. Song is a short, up-and-down series of chirpy notes. Combination of range and eye color separate it from most other eremomelas. Very similar to Yellow-vented Eremomela, but always shows more yellow on the belly.
Identification
The yellow-bellied eremomela is a very small bird 10 cm long and weighing around 9 g. Its upperparts are grey, becoming darker and more olive on the wings and tail. There is a thin pale grey supercilium and a blackish stripe through the eye. The grey breast shades into the lemon yellow belly. The bill is blackish. The subspecies vary in the extent and intensity of the yellow on the belly, and birds in western southern Africa have whitish throat and breast.<p>The sexes are similar, but the juvenile has duller yellow underparts than the adult. The call is a high-pitched repeated tchee-tchee-tchuut.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Eremomela icteropygialis
- Authority
- (Lafresnaye, 1839)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Cisticolidae
- Genus
- Eremomela
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The yellow-bellied eremomela builds a cup nest in the branches of a tree or shrub, and lays two to four white eggs. This territorial species is monogamous, pairing for life.<p>This bird is usually seen alone, in pairs, or in family groups as it forages on the ground or in foliage for insects and other small invertebrates
Conservation
This common species has a large range, with an estimated extent of 7,100,000 km². The population size is believed to be large, and the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as least concern.<p>The race salvadorii, from Zaire, Gabon, Angola and Zambia, is sometimes treated as a separate species, Eremomela salvadorii.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Fan-tailed Cuckoo
Cacomantis flabelliformis
A medium-sized cuckoo, with a warm buff colored chest and belly. Bright yellow eyering and heavily barred tail. Take care to identify from Brush Cuckoo (which has a gray eyering), and from Pallid Cuckoo (which is paler and lacks the warm breast tones). Often detected by sound since this species calls frequently with a descending trill. Perches in the midstory on exposed branches, and flushes easily to a nearby perch.
Uniform Treehunter
Thripadectes ignobilis
Medium-sized brownish bird of the lower subtropical zone in the western Andes of Colombia and Ecuador. Plain dark brown with much less streaking than other treehunters; only shows a slightly paler eyebrow and some streaking on the throat. Typically found at lower elevations than other treehunters in range, but some overlap. Western Woodhaunter is found at similar elevations but has a longer, narrower bill and a paler buffy throat. Singles or pairs follow mixed-species flocks through the understory, where they can be skulky and difficult to see. Listen for the song: a slow series of 5-10 squeaky notes.
Golden-olive Woodpecker
Colaptes rubiginosus
Widespread ‘green woodpecker’ of tropical and subtropical forest; the only species of overall green woodpecker in much of its range, and therefore distinctive. Prefers mid-upper levels of forest, where can be very sluggish, and is overlooked easily unless its calls are known. Both sexes have red on back of head. ‘Bronze-winged Woodpecker’ of Northeast Mexico has less red on head, and very different voice from widespread Golden-olive forms.
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