Brubru
Nilaus afer
A small, mostly black-and-white bushshrike with a pale wing stripe and a checkered back. In most races a strong chestnut stripe runs from the shoulders to the flanks, but in some races it is absent. Females are less boldly marked than males. Pairs frequently join mixed-species flocks in arid savanna and broadleaf woodland, where they acrobatically glean for invertebrates. The species’ distinctive main call is remarkably telephone-like, a ringing burry “preeeeee” with some associated clicks and whistles.
Identification
The brubru is a small passerine, 12–15 cm long. The adult male of the nominate subspecies, N. a. afer, has a black crown, white supercilium and forehead, and black eyestripe. The back is black with a tawny strip, the rump is mottled black, and the tail is black with white tips and edges to the outer feathers. The wings are black with a buff shoulder stripe. The underparts are white with rufous flanks.<p>The female is duller and browner, with some streaking on the underparts and less rufous on the flanks. The juvenile is mottled brown, buff and white above, with buff edgings to the wing and tail feathers. Its underparts are whitish with brown barring.<p>The male of the most distinctive of the other subspecies, N. a. nigritemporalis, occurring in the central belt across Africa, has no supercilium and a white, not buff, shoulder patch. Other subspecies differ in the extent of the supercilium and rufous flanks, and the shade and degree of streaking of the underparts.<p>The song is a duet. The male gives a soft prrrrruuu call, often answered by the female's eeeu.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Nilaus afer
- Authority
- (Latham, 1801)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Malaconotidae
- Genus
- Nilaus
Range and habitat
Its habitat is dry open woodland, but varies geographically. The six northern races and the subspecies N. a. Brubru of southern Africa are found in acacia and broadleaved woodland, whereas the three subspecies in a belt from northeastern Angola and northern Namibia east to Tanzania and northern Mozambique occur in Brachystegia miombo woodland.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The brubru is usually solitary or found in pairs; it is a restless but unobtrusive arboreal species which hunts insects in the canopy. Its need for large trees in which to feed means that it has an unusually large territory for a bird of its size, typically 35 hectares. If insects are abundant, it will join mixed-species feeding flocks.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Dark-fronted Babbler
Dumetia atriceps
Plain but distinctive small stumpy babbler. Note the dark mask (extending to the crown in the Western Ghats), pale yellow eyes, and white underparts. Gives mechanical-sounding rattling ticks. Forages in flocks in the dense understory of forests, forest edge, and densely vegetated weedy fields, reedbeds, and cultivation, from lowlands up into montane areas.
Marañon Gnatcatcher
Polioptila maior
Tiny gray-and-white bird with long cocked tail and rather long slender bill. Fairly common in dry and semi-dry forest in the Marañón Valley; recently also discovered in dry valleys as far south as northern Lima. Often in pairs, traveling with mixed-species flocks. Male has a solid black cap, female has a bold white eyebrow. Generally the only gnatcatcher in range, but compared to White-browed Gnatcatcher, note the white forehead in female Marañon, and lack of white eyebrow in the male.
Singing Parrot
Geoffroyus heteroclitus
A mostly green medium-sized parrot with a contrasting head, gray in females and yellow in males. Shows a blue underwing in flight. Inhabits lowland forest edge, including coconut plantations, parks, and gardens, up to at least 1750 meters of elevation. Bulkier than Cardinal, White-naped, Yellow-bibbed, and Purple-bellied Lories, with slower wingbeats, and lacks the mostly red color of those species. The similar Eclectus Parrot is larger with a bigger bill, and male is also green but has a red underwing. Singing Parrot’s voice includes a wide variety of harsh cries and a whistling bell-like song.
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