Red-capped Crombec
Sylvietta ruficapilla
Small and virtually tailless warbler with a pale gray back and rufous marks on the cheek and breast. The color of the cap and forehead vary geographically, and can be gray or rufous. Found in miombo woodland, mainly in the canopy. Often joins mixed-species feeding flocks. The song is a short, up-and-down warble. Similar in shape to other crombecs, but identified by rufous cheek and breast patches.
Identification
The Red-Capped Crombec is a small bird recorded to be ranging around 11 to 12 cm(4.3 to 4.7 inches) in size. It has a red almost burnt orange cap on its head, with the body being an olive-brown plumage. The wings and tail are often found to be darker with the under parts lighter being a pale yellow hue. The Red-Capped Crombec has a slim, sharp bill used for catching insects.
Taxonomy
The family of birds the crombec falls into is the Sylvietta, which means a type of african warbler. All the other species in its family can be linked as seen as below: <p>The crombecs belong to a more prominent family called the Macrosphenidae. The macrosphenidae or african warblers. The macrosphenidae is broken up into 5 different subspecies. “Macrosphenus or longbills, (link), Sphenoeacus – cape grassbird, melocichla - moustached grass warbler, cryptillas- victorians’ warbler, and sylvietta -crombecs and contain 9 species.
- Scientific name
- Sylvietta ruficapilla
- Authority
- Barboza du Bocage, 1877
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Macrosphenidae
- Genus
- Sylvietta
Range and habitat
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland. The Red-Capped Crombec(Sylvietta ruficapilla) belongs to the Sylviidae family, a family considered Old World Warblers with it being a member of the genus Sylvietta. The Red-Capped Crombec are found in sub-Saharan Africa near countries like the Republic of Congo, DRC, Zambia, and Mozambique. It is found in Angola, Republic of the Congo, the DRC, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Botswana.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-belted Flowerpecker
Dicaeum haematostictum
A small bird of forest and fairly open woodland from the lowlands to lower elevations in the mountains. Black above, glossed blue, with white underparts marked by a red patch from the chest to the belly, bordered with black around the top. Note the fairly long slender bill. Similar to Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, but has black above the red patch rather than below. Voice includes high-pitched piping as well as “chik!” notes more typical of a flowerpecker.
Burchell's Starling
Lamprotornis australis
A large, long-tailed, iridescent blue-green to purple glossy starling with barred wings, and a round-tipped tail. Pairs, groups, and small flocks are resident in dry savanna, especially near thorn trees, where they have become common in camps and often associate with humans. The species feeds on the ground, walking with long strides and sitting low in trees, searching for insects, small vertebrates, and plant matter to eat. The similar Meves’s Starling differs from Burchell’s Starling by being bluer and smaller, with a more strongly graduated tail that is proportionately longer.
Swinhoe's Snipe
Gallinago megala
Large, marsh-dwelling shorebird of wetlands, wet meadows, and both flooded and dry agricultural fields. Extremely difficult to distinguish from other species of snipe, especially Pin-tailed Snipe, and careful study and photography usually required to confirm identification. Outer tail feathers broader than in Pin-tailed Snipe, but difficult to see and photograph, as tail is not often spread. Unlike Common Snipe, seldom calls when flushed. Much darker and more richly colored than pale Latham's Snipe.
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