Ituri Batis
Batis ituriensis
A very small and striking gray, white, and black flycatcher-like bird with a very dark crown, a yellow eye, white wingbars, and a white spot above the bill base. Sexes similar. Juvenile has neck and wing washed buffy. Pairs are rare and localized residents in the middle levels and the canopy of secondary and primary lowland forest, below 1300 meters of elevation. The larger Rwenzori Batis has a broader breast band than Ituri Batis and tends to occur in montane forest above 1400 meters.
Identification
The Ituri batis is a very small black and white bird, like a small shrike or old world flycatcher which is white below with a broad black breast band, a black head with a conspicuous white loral spot in front of a bright yellow eye. Black on the back and wings with a white strip on the wings and white outer tail feathers on an otherwise black tail. The female is similar to the male but has a thin white supercilium. Young birds are buffer above and greyer below. The Ituri batis has a body length of 9.5–10 cm (3.7–3.9 in).
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Batis ituriensis
- Authority
- Chapin, 1921
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Platysteiridae
- Genus
- Batis
Range and habitat
The Ituri batis occurs in the eastern Congo Basin in Ituri and Itombwe in the north eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where it is uncommon and in the Budongo Forest in western Uganda where it is common.<p>The Ituri batis is found in lowland forest, between 900 and 1,300 m (3,000 and 4,300 ft). It prefers degraded forest such as secondary forest, and cultivated areas with scattered tall trees, such as plantations, and avoiding primary rainforest.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
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Small bird of dry scrub enclaves in rainforest regions. All-black male is distinctive; compared to other manakins, note longish tail and blue bill in both sexes. Locally common in low-stature forests and savanna scrub woodland, always in areas with extremely weathered, sandy soil. Eats fruit. Groups of males give vocal displays from dispersed perches, often well inside vegetation. Male resembles Amazonian Black-Tyrant, but has shorter bill and is unlikely to occur in the same habitat. Most common call is an unusual, squeaky chuckle; useful when searching for this bird in dense scrub.
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