Black-crowned Tchagra
Tchagra senegalus
A gray-brown bushshrike with rufous wings, a bold pale eyebrow, and a diagnostic all-black crown; most races have a distinctive gray belly. Pairs occasionally join mixed-species flocks and skulk in a variety of scrub, tangled thickets, and open woodland, foraging for insects on the ground or in the lower levels of vegetation. The species sings a wonderful melodious up-and-down whistled “whee-cheee-chooo-cheeera” and a variety of other whistles and grating sounds.
Identification
The black-crowned tchagra is a colourful and unmistakable species, 19–22 cm in length. It has a black crown and eye stripes separated by a broad white supercilium. The underparts are pale grey and the upperparts pale brown. The folded wings are chestnut and the tail is black, tipped white. The bill is black.<p>Sexes are similar, but young birds have a brown cap and a pale yellow bill. There are 14 subspecies, varying in size and the colour of the back, underparts and eyestripe.<p>Black-crowned tchagra has a descending whistling song, chee-chee chee cheroo cheroo, and can be readily tempted into sight by imitating this call, presumably because the bird is concerned that there is an intruder in its territory. The male also has a switchback display flight.
Taxonomy
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the black-crowned tchagra in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in Senegal. He used the French name La pie-griesche gris du Sénégal and the Latin Lanius Senegalensis cinereus. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the black-crowned tchagra. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Lanius senegalus and cited Brisson's work. The species is now placed in the genus Tchagra that was introduced by the French naturalist René Lesson in 1831. Nine subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Tchagra senegalus
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Malaconotidae
- Genus
- Tchagra
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Black-crowned tchagra lays two or three heavily marked white eggs in a cup nest in a tree or bush. Both sexes, but mainly the female, incubate for 12–15 days to hatching; the chicks fledge after another 15 days.<p>It is similar in habits to the shrikes, hunting insects and other small prey from a perch in a bush, although it sits less conspicuously than true shrikes.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Island Scrub-Jay
Aphelocoma insularis
The largest and darkest scrub-jay, identifiable solely based on range: found exclusively on Santa Cruz Island off southern California. Similar to California Scrub-Jay but larger, with darker back and darker mask. Inhabits scrubby woodland habitat, often on or near the ground. Typically found in small family groups.
Rondonia Warbling-Antbird
Hypocnemis ochrogyna
A relatively small antbird. Males are heavily streaked black and white on the head and back with a lightly streaked breast, and rusty flanks and lower back. Females have a browner tinge to the head and back. Inhabits the understory of humid primary forest and old second growth, favoring tree fall gaps. Sometimes accompanies mixed-species flocks and regularly attends army-ant swarms. The song begins with a clear series of 4-6 notes and finishes with harsh notes.
Slender-billed Greenbul
Stelgidillas gracilirostris
Slim, long-tailed greenbul with an olive-brown back and gray underparts. When seen well, shows a red eye. Found in the canopy of humid forest. Can be found singly, in pairs, or in small groups. The most common vocalization is a long, descending whistle: “teeeiow.” The contrast between the dark upperparts and gray underparts make this a distinctive species by greenbul standards.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.