White-browed Robin-Chat
Cossypha heuglini
A large robin-chat with striking fiery orange underparts and collar, and a dark mask and crown split by broad white eyebrows. The back and wings are olive-gray. Pairs prefer forest thickets in well developed woodland, where they forage on the ground and sing from mid-canopy. Basic variations of the bold duetted “puu-deet, puu-deet, puu-deet” song get louder and louder in a characteristic crescendo, often incorporating varied jumbled notes and imitations of other species. The similar Rüppell's Robin-Chat is smaller than White-browed Robin-Chat, has black (not brown) central tail feathers, and prefers montane forest. The lowland forest-loving Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat is smaller yet, and has a diagnostic iridescent bluish forewing.
Identification
The white-browed robin-chat is 19–20 cm (7.5–7.9 in) long and weighs 29–51 g (1.0–1.8 oz). The crown and face are black, and there is a white supercilium over the dark brown eye. The back is olive grey-brown, and the rump is rufous. The two central tail feathers are olive-brown, and the other feathers are orange-rufous. The flight feathers and wing coverts are grey-brown, and the underwing coverts are rufous. The underparts are bright orange-rufous. The beak is black, and the legs are pinkish-brown, brownish grey, or dark brown. The female is a little smaller than the male. The juvenile bird has a brown head and rufous-brown marks on its back. Its throat is pale, its breast is pale orange-buff, and its belly is pale orange.
Taxonomy
Hartlaub described the species from Sudan in 1866. The specific epithet is derived from Martin Theodor von Heuglin. Three subspecies are recognized: Cossypha heuglini subrufescens ranging from Gabon to western Angola; C. h. heuglini from the southern parts of Chad and Sudan to eastern Angola, Botswana, and northern South Africa; and C. h. intermedia from southern Somalia to northeastern South Africa.
- Scientific name
- Cossypha heuglini
- Authority
- Hartlaub, 1866
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Cossypha
Range and habitat
The range includes Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its habitats include riverine forests, thickets, and also gardens. In East Africa it can be found up to 2,200 m (7,200 ft) above sea level, but in the part of its range south of the Limpopo River, it generally occurs at elevations below 1,000 m (3,300 ft). In South Africa, its range in KwaZulu-Natal expanded south from the 1950s to the 1970s, but the damage caused by a tropical cyclone in 1987 may have stopped the expansion.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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A mid-sized owlet-nightjar of lower montane forests. Strongly barred back and chest with a brown base, whitish belly and a pale collar. A large, fluffy-headed appearance. Often seen with its head sticking out of a tree cavity. The similar Wallace’s and Mountain Owlet-Nightjars may co-occur but Vogelkop Owlet-Nightjar has only barring on the chest and lacks the small white streaks, or flecks on the back. Vocalizations unknown.
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