Southern Penduline-Tit
Anthoscopus minutus
A tiny, short-tailed bird with a small fine bill, yellowish underparts, a green back, and a gray head with fine grizzled black-and-white scaly patterning on the forehead. Pairs and small groups forage restlessly for invertebrates and fruits, dangling upside down while they search. The species occurs in desert and semi-desert scrub, preferring taller thorn trees for nesting. It is often detected by its song, a repeated series of 5-7 high-pitched “chiueew” notes. Multiple birds may also give simple high-pitched tinkling and rasping notes. The similar African Penduline-Tit differs from Southern Penduline-Tit in areas of overlap by being smaller, lacking a grizzled forehead, and having buff (not yellowish) underparts.
Taxonomy
The Cape penduline tit was formally described and illustrated in 1812 by the English naturalist George Shaw under the binomial name Sylvia minuta. The species is now placed in the genus Anthoscopus that was introduced in 1851 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek anthos meaning "blossom" or "flower" with skopos meaning "searcher". The specific epithet minutus is Latin meaning "little".<p>Three subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Anthoscopus minutus
- Authority
- (Shaw, 1812)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Remizidae
- Genus
- Anthoscopus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
They build a globular nest made of the webs of Stegodyphus spiders as well as silken fibre from various plants. An entrance hole is made on the side and towards the end, a false entry and chamber are constructed below the actual entrance to the nest chamber. The spout at the entrance has a separating septum with the entrance to the actual nest chamber at the upper portion, the septum pushed up with its forehead to close the upper entrance by the bird just before leaving the nest so as to show only the main entrance leading into a blind chamber. This is a defence against snakes and other nest predators.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-winged Cuckooshrike
Lalage melaschistos
An overall sooty-colored cuckooshrike with broad white tips to the tail feathers. Male is dark sooty-gray with a slaty sheen, slightly paler on rump. Underparts paler toward tail; wings black. Female is very similar to male, but paler in general, often weakly barred with dark and pale gray on underparts. Male has a black mask, while female has dark lores and a faint eyering. Juvenile is blackish-brown above and brownish-gray below, heavily scaled whitish all over, with broad white tips on wing feathers. Immature like female, but more strongly and extensively barred below. Song is a loud series of whistles “pe-pe-pe-peew-peew-pew”; sometimes the starting notes are skipped. Found in all types of woodlands, including broad-leaved forests, sometimes even near cultivation during non-breeding season.
Semipalmated Plover
Charadrius semipalmatus
Small, orange-legged plover with solid dark breast band. Medium-brown upperparts are the color of wet sand, noticeably darker than Piping or Snowy Plovers. Look for short, blunt bill with orange base (often indistinct on juveniles). Feeds on mudflats and beaches, often mixed with other shorebirds. Even when in a flock, individuals are typically spread out rather than remaining a tight unit. Breeds on the tundra or rocky beaches at northern latitudes; winters to southern South America. Migrants are common and widespread, inland and coastal. Listen for distinctive two parted “chu-weep!” calls, and assorted chortles and chuckles.
Taiwan Bush Warbler
Locustella alishanensis
Drab brown and skulking, this medium-sized endemic songbird can be difficult to locate but can be confiding once found. Largely rich brown and unmarked, but some birds have a streaked or spotted pattern on the pale throat. Brown-flanked and Yellow-bellied Bush Warblers are smaller and warmer brown, with a sharply contrasting supercilium. Breeds in mid- to high-elevation forests and edges and descends to lower elevations in the winter; stays low in dense bushes and shrubbery. Gives a hiccuping song consisting of melancholy whistles interrupted by ticking clicks. Calls are harsh rasping insect-like notes.
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