Sharpe's Longclaw
Macronyx sharpei
A small, pretty member of the pipit family. Note the yellow underparts, the breast band of black streaks, and the scaly brown upperparts. Males and females are similar, but females are duller. The white edges of the tail are conspicuous in weak, fluttering flight. Found on the ground in montane grassland, often in wet areas. Similar to Yellow-throated Longclaw, but there is little overlap in range, and Sharpe’s is separated by being much smaller and having a streaky rather than solid black breast band. Brownish immatures can be confused with pipits, but show some pale yellow below. The song is a series of musical whistles in an up-and-down pattern, given from a perch or in flight. The calls include a sharp “siit” and a longer, metallic “chweee.”
Taxonomy
Sharpe's longclaw was described by the English ornithologist Frederick John Jackson in 1904 from specimens collected in the Mau Plateau area of Kenya. He coined the binomial name Macronyx sharpei. Both the common name and the specific epithet honour the English ornithologist and museum curator Richard Bowdler Sharpe.<p>The Sharpe's longclaw is a member of the family Motacillidae, which includes the pipits and wagtails. Some ornithologists place the species with the yellow-breasted pipit in the separate genus Hemimacronyx. The two species are closely related and form a superspecies. This genus, along with the golden pipit in the genus Tmetothylacus and the longclaws form an exclusively African clade within the family, separate from the true pipits in the genus Anthus and the wagtails.
- Scientific name
- Macronyx sharpei
- Authority
- Jackson, FJ, 1904
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Motacillidae
- Genus
- Macronyx
Range and habitat
The Sharpe's longclaw is found in the highlands of west and central Kenya. It has a restricted distribution, occurring on the northern slopes of Mount Kenya, the southern slopes of the Aberdares, on the Gishu, Mau and Kinangop Plateaus around the Rift Valley, and the Kenyan slopes of Mount Elgon (possibly the Ugandan slopes as well).<p>The natural habitat of the species is open treeless grassland with short and often tussocky grasses. It ranges between 1,850 and 3,400 m (6,070–11,150 ft) in altitude, although more commonly below 2,800 m (9,200 ft). It occurs at higher altitudes than the yellow-throated longclaw, with little overlap between the ranges of the two species. It is generally non-migratory, but will travel short distances when its habitat becomes too dry.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The Sharpe's longclaw feeds on insects, particularly grasshoppers and beetles. Other invertebrates are taken as well. Within its range it has a higher feeding rate in grasslands with tussocks. The species forages alone or in pairs, sometimes in small family groups.<p>The Sharpe's longclaw is a monogamous and solitary breeder that defends a territory. The breeding season is during or after the rains, from March to June, September to October and in December. The species has a brief aerial breeding display, where the bird flies up and then drops, singing rapidly as it drops. The nest is a well-made cup of dried grass lined with roots and placed near the ground at the base of a grass tussock or under a shrub or plant. Between two and three eggs are laid.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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