Chirinda Apalis
Apalis chirindensis
Plain, dull slender long-tailed canopy warbler-like bird that is gray above and pale underneath, with pinkish legs and white tips to the tail. The female is like the male but has a pale base to the beak. Singles and pairs are resident in the mid-story and canopy of mid-altitude and montane forest, mostly between 1200–2200m, where it may join mixed flocks. Voice a strident repeated upslurred “swick-swick-swick….”. Only marginally overlaps with similar Black-headed Apalis, which is more contrasting than Chirinda: darker above and paler beneath, and in zone of overlap has a pale eye.
Identification
The Chirinda apalis has the typical slender, long tailed shape of apalises, with a slender bill. The overall colour is dull grey, darker above and paler below with white tips to the tail. The sexes are similar but females show a paler base to the beak. The juveniles are similar to the adults but have more yellow or green tinges to the plumage and also have a paler bill. This species has a length of between 11 and 13 cm (4.3 and 5.1 in).<p>The subspecies A. c. vumbae differs from the nominate, A. c. chirndensis, in having the maxilla a pale horn colour or dusky with a pale pink mandible, it is also a lighter grey in colour and the feathers of the tail have larger white tips. The nominate subspecies is darker and the males have all black bills and the females may show a pale base to the mandible.<p>The call of the Chirinda aplais is a repeated chip which has been written as "chpip-chipip", or "swick-swick-swick".
Taxonomy
The Chirinda apalis was first formally described in 1906 by the English geologist and ornithologist George Ernest Shelley. The type specimen was collected in June 1905 in the Chirinda Forest in eastern Rhodesia, modern Zimbabwe, at an altitude of 4,000 ft (1,200 m). The Chirinda apalis is classified in the genus Apalis which belongs to the family Cisticolidae, which includes the cisticolas, prinias, tailorbirds, eremomelas and other groups of “African” warblers, formerly classified within the Old World warbler family Sylviidae. <p>The Chirinda apalis is divided into two subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Apalis chirindensis
- Authority
- Shelley, 1906
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Cisticolidae
- Genus
- Apalis
Range and habitat
The Chrinda apalis is endemic to southeastern Africa where it occurs only in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe and Mozambique and on Mount Gorongosa in Mozambique. In Zimbabwe it occurs from Nyanga National Park south through the Eatsern Highlands including the Bvumba Mountains, the Chimanimani Mountains and the Chipinge Uplands, with records from the Honde Valley and the confluence of the Haroni-Rusitu rivers in the winter months which suggest some altitudinal movement outside the breeding season. In Mozambique this species has been recorded from the headwaters of the Pungwe River south to Espungabera, in the Chimanimani Mountains with an isolated population on Mount Gorongosa. The Chirinda apalis is found in the mid-storey and canopy of evergreen forest and dense riverine bush, mostly at altitudes between 1,200 and 2,200 m (3,900 and 7,200 ft).
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Conservation
The Chirinda apalis is classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and BirdLife International as there has been a rapid decline in the species population. The main threat to this species is habitat loss due to deforestation and degradation of the forest, within the 10 years up to 2022 the estinated loss of tree cover within its range has been 35%.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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Robust black-and-white bushshrike. There is a pale cinnamon wash on the belly and a white stripe across the top of the wing. Found in dense microhabitats within forest, woodland, thickets, and gardens. Not particularly shy, but spends most of its time in dense cover, usually in pairs. Highly vocal bird with a variety of calls. The song is a synchronized duet of hollow hoots from the male and ratcheting calls from the female. Has a very similar color pattern to other boubous, but its underparts are paler than those of Southern Boubou and darker than those of Swamp Boubou. Has a white stripe on the wing, unlike Zanzibar Boubou.
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