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
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Biak Whistler
Pachycephala melanorhyncha
Medium-sized bird of forest on Biak Island. Warm brown above, paler below, orange-brown face and rufous flight feathers. Thick black bill and large eye. Previously thought to be a subspecies of Little Shrikethrush, but now placed with the whistlers. No similar species in range. Very skulking and much more often seen than heard. Voice, various short, spaced whistles interspersed with rapidly repeated “chew” notes.
Black-throated Antbird
Myrmophylax atrothorax
Medium-sized antbird of dense understory and riverside vegetation. Males are deep chestnut-brown, with black throat and white wing spots; females are lighter red-brown above, light tan below, with white wing spots as in male. Typically found in dense vegetation along rivers, particularly common in dense cane stands; sometimes also found away from water around forest edges and in tree fall gaps. Listen for an ascending series of high, whiny notes, decelerating then accelerating.
Pallid Dove
Leptotila pallida
A rather plain medium-sized dove, mostly restricted to western Ecuador but also occurs in western Colombia and extreme northwestern Peru. Within range, the main confusion species is White-tipped Dove. Pallid Dove has notably darker and warmer brown upperparts that contrast more with the whitish underparts. Like other members of the genus, Pallid is typically found on the ground (or flushing up into the understory). It is most often seen walking on roads or trails, or flying across quickly. There are a few places where it visits feeders. Within its limited range, it is fairly common, but be careful to separate from the equally (or more) common White-tipped Dove. Listen for its low-pitched, single “hoo” call.
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