Southern Black-Flycatcher
Melaenornis pammelaina
A slim and lustrous glossy-black flycatcher with upright posture, dark brown eyes, and a straight-edged square tail. Females are less glossy, and juveniles are spotted brown. Singles, pairs, or small groups frequent woodland, savanna, forest edge, and parkland, where they join mixed-species flocks. This species perches on branches and either pounces to the ground to hunt prey or pursues passing insects; it often associates with Fork-tailed Drongo, which it may imitate. The call is a three-note “tseeep-tsoo-tsoo.” The similar Fork-tailed Drongo differs by having red eyes and a forked tail, and Northern Black-Flycatcher differs by having dull matte black rather than glossy plumage.
Identification
The southern black flycatcher is entirely black, with a black beak and black legs. The iris of the eye is brown and this, along with the square-cut tail, helps distinguish it from the otherwise similar fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis) which has a red iris and long forked tail.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Melaenornis pammelaina
- Authority
- (Stanley, 1814)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Melaenornis
Range and habitat
The southern black flycatcher is native to eastern and southern Africa. It has been recorded from Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Namibia, Eswatini, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa. It is typically found in habitats with open areas and light woodland, riparian corridors, the edges of plantations and in gardens. The trees in these habitats include miombo (Brachystegia spp.), thorntrees (Acacia spp.) and mopane (Colosphermum mopane).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The southern black flycatcher is a mainly insectivorous bird. Its diet includes beetles, termites, locusts, worms, spiders and centipedes. Its main foraging technique is to perch on a low eminence such as a branch or fence post and pounce on prey in the air or on the ground below. It is also known to sip nectar from the flowers of mountain aloe (Aloe marlothii) and to eat the berries of the black nightshade (Solanum nigrum). It sometimes forages in small flocks, often associating with fork-tailed drongos. Possible benefits for this association is a lower predation risk and a higher foraging success.<p>Breeding takes place between May and January, peaking in September and October. The nest is usually built in a recess in a tree trunk or behind a loose slab of bark, but is sometimes in a tangle of creepers, the sheath of a palm frond, banana bunch or an abandoned farm implement. It is cup-shaped and composed of twigs and dry grasses, lined with fine rootlets. Up to four eggs are laid and incubation lasts about two weeks with the young fledging and leaving the nest in fifteen to twenty days.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Sora
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Lowland Peltops
Peltops blainvillii
A medium-sized bird of lowland forest edge and clearings. Distinctive plumage. Mainly black, bright red above and below the base of the tail, and white marks on the cheek and back. Perches in tall trees, sallying for flying insects. Very similar to Mountain Peltops, but Lowland is found at lower elevations and has a smaller white cheek. Voice, a double note rap, “plik-it!” repeated at regular intervals. Also, a distinctive, unbirdlike, vibrating rattle.
Andean Duck
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Small, compact duck with a long, fan-shaped tail, often held sticking up out of water. Breeding males have a chestnut body, black head, and baby-blue bill. Nonbreeding males and females are variably brown overall, often with a smudgy dark face and a dark line through the cheek. Occurs in pairs or loose flocks, bobbing like corks on lakes in the Andes from central Colombia to southern Chile. Dives to forage on aquatic invertebrates. Not often seen flying.
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