Marsh Tchagra
Bocagia minuta
Small tchagra with a rufous back and buffy underparts. Males have a solidly black cap, and females a black-and-white striped cap. In the southern part of the range, the back is solidly rufous, while in the north, there is a black “V” across the shoulders. Found in a variety of moist habitats, including wet scrub, streamside vegetation, grassland, and marsh edge. Skulking, inconspicuous, and generally uncommon. The song is a short series of chatty whistles, given by the male in a display flight. Calls include low, raspy notes. Similar overall to other tchagras, but smaller and shorter-tailed.
Taxonomy
The marsh tchagra was described by the German ornithologist Gustav Hartlaub in 1858 and given the binomial name Telephonus minutus. The species is now placed in the monotypic genus Bocagia that was introduced by the English ornithologist George Ernest Shelley in 1894.<p>Three subspecies are recognised.<p>The subspecies B. m. anchietae is sometimes separated as Anchieta's tchagra.
- Scientific name
- Bocagia minuta
- Authority
- (Hartlaub, 1858)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Macrosphenidae
- Genus
- Bocagia
Range and habitat
It is widely distributed across central Africa and is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.<p>Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and swamps.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Cinnamon Hummingbird
Amazilia rutila
Striking, medium-size hummingbird of dry tropical lowlands. Favors scrubby woodland and edge, gardens, semi-open areas with flowering trees. Wholly cinnamon-colored underparts distinctive; also note the bright red bill, tipped black (red less extensive on immatures). If seen only from behind, can be confused with Buff-bellied and Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds, both of which show a green throat and chest when seen from the side or front.
Short-tailed Lark
Spizocorys fremantlii
An unusual and distinctive lark with a large bill and a short tail. Note the black “tear” mark below the eye. Plumage varies geographically; this lark is sandy brown in the northern part of the range and dark brown in the south. Found in dry, short grassland, usually within savanna environments, generally in small flocks. Somewhat similar to Thekla Lark, but has a larger bill and a shorter tail, and lacks a crest. The song includes short series of well-spaced slurred whistles. The typical call is a nasal whistle.
Booted Warbler
Iduna caligata
Small, recalling a beige chiffchaff or other Phylloscopus warbler. Rather nondescript: gray brown above, paler below, with a short, dark-tipped bill and conspicuous pale eyebrow. Pot-bellied with short wings and a square-tipped tail. Can be extremely difficult to identify; compare carefully with small Acrocephalus warblers and other Iduna warblers, especially Sykes’s Warbler. Found in low bushes in steppes and meadows; also bushy areas in migration and in winter. Usually forages low down, and occasionally on the ground. Song starts out with a few dry chitters, then launches into a rapidfire burst of high-pitched chattering that almost stumbles over itself. Also gives dry “tchak” and rattle calls.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.