Black-backed Puffback
Dryoscopus cubla
A small, canopy-loving black-and-white shrike with a fiery red eye. When excited, males can raise fluffy white feathers on the rump to resemble a puffball. The sexes differ, with males clean-cut and females duller and more cream-and-gray in coloration. Singles and pairs frequently join mixed-species flocks foraging agilely for insects, working the canopy of dense broadleaf woodland and riverine, lowland, and montane forest. Black-backed Puffbacks are often detected by their characteristic song: a loud click followed by a whistled wheeeoo,” the combination given repeatedly.
Identification
They measure about 17 cm in length, and the sexes are similar though easily distinguishable. Adult males have the upperparts deep blue-black with a slight luster. The black cap subtends the red eye, the upperpart plumage is black-and-white, and the underparts pure white. Females have a black loral stripe and white supraloral feathering, with the ear coverts pale and the crown not solidly black. They also have greyer backs than males, and grey to buffy tones to the white plumage tracts. Immature birds resemble females, but have brownish bills and brown irides, while the upperparts and flanks are still greyer, and the underparts and edges of the wing feathers are yet more buffy. Intraspecific variation is clinal. Range, iris colour, wing markings and the female plumage assist in separating it from other puffback species.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Dryoscopus cubla
- Authority
- (Latham, 1801)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Malaconotidae
- Genus
- Dryoscopus
Range and habitat
They occur mainly south of the equator in sub-Saharan Africa, from southern Somalia to coastal South Africa. From the vicinity of the equator and northwards it is replaced by the somewhat larger northern puffback, with which it forms a superspecies.<p>They are commonly found in gardens, riparian thickets, mangroves, woodlands, moist (or less commonly arid) savanna, bushveld and especially towards the south, fringes of afromontane forest. They are present from sea level to some 2,200 m.a.s.l., and are the only puffback species to occur over much of their range. Highest reporting rates are from the densest woodlands, though all woodland types, including Racosperma plantations, are utilized. In southern Africa the highest reporting rates are from miombo (including the Eastern Highlands), gusu, mopane, various mixed woodlands, whether moist or arid, and riparian fringing forest, including that of the Okavango Delta.<p>A density of 1 pair per 42 ha was recorded in broadleaved Terminalia-Burkea woodland at Nylsvley, South Africa, and a breeding territory is thought to encompass some 4 ha. Intensive farming and human pressure have destroyed large tracts of their natural habitat in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. They are naturally absent from arid Acacia scrub, Acacia savanna on the Zimbabwean plateau, and the treeless highveld and alpine regions of southern Africa. It also avoids the Congo Basin and, for the most part, tree canopies at the interior of afromontane forests.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Chatham Islands Oystercatcher
Haematopus chathamensis
Stocky wader with distinctive pied plumage, red eye surrounded by orange eye-ring, orange bill, and pink legs and feet in adults. Juvenile birds have paler skin and dark tip to bill. Found around rocky and sandy coasts of the Chatham Islands. Most often seen in pairs. Gives a high-pitched piping call in territorial defense and courtship. Chatham Oystercatcher distinguished from South Island Pied Oystercatcher (SIPO) by smaller size and smudged border between black and white on breast.
Madagascar Scops-Owl
Otus rutilus
Typical scops-owl, with small ear tufts that can be hidden, especially when roosting during the day. Color varies from gray to brown to rufous, with rufous birds more prevalent in the eastern rainforest. Inhabits both moist and dry habitats throughout Madagascar, including rainforest, dry deciduous forest, spiny forest, scrub, and plantations. Often found on day roosts in low tangles. Song varies geographically. In the east, it is a punctuated “tru-tru-tru…”. In the west it is a more rolling “trrr-trrr-trrr…”. Intermediate vocalizations can be heard in transitional zones, such as far northern Madagascar. Much smaller than all of Madagascar’s other owls.
Four-colored Bushshrike
Telophorus viridis
Beautiful bird with an olive back, red throat, and black chest band. Varies geographically: has a yellow belly in the east and an olive-green one in the west. The male has a broader chest band than the female. Found in forest undergrowth, thickets, and thick woodland. Skulking bird that is most often located by voice: a perky “du-do-whit.” Range does not overlap with the similar Doherty’s Bushshrike.
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