Senegal Eremomela

Eremomela pusilla

Small, fairly colorful bird with a typical warbler shape. The head is mostly gray, the upperparts olive-green, the upper breast whitish, and the belly and lower breast rich yellow. Found in lush woodland and savanna. An active, restless bird that is usually in small groups. Similar to Yellow-bellied Eremomela, but longer-tailed and brighter overall, with a greener back and yellow extending up onto the lower breast. The apalis-like song is a long series of low-pitched “whichew” notes, usually given at dawn. The calls include a short trill and low scratchy notes. These calls are often given in chorus by a whole group. 

Identification

The Senegal eremomela is a small bird with a pale brownish grey head and a pale white supercilium. The back and mantle are green, becoming a brighter yellowish green on the rump, the throat and upper breast are white becoming bright lemon yellow on the lower breast, belly and vent. Blackish bill with a pale lower mandible and pale brownish legs.<p>The territorial call is a rarely heard harsh and rapid chattering. It trills constantly when foraging. It joins the morning chorus with a dull monotonous and rhythmic "whup-whup-whup" sand from a perch before and at the start of the breeding season.

Taxonomy

The Senegal eremomela was described by the German ornithologist Gustav Hartlaub in 1857 and given its current binomial name Eremomela pusilla. The type locality is Senegal. The species has been treated as conspecific with the green-backed eremomela, as they hybridizes in a narrow zone of sympatry along the Cameroon-Central African Republic border.

Scientific name
Eremomela pusilla
Authority
Hartlaub, 1857
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Cisticolidae
Genus
Eremomela

Range and habitat

Western Africa from extreme southern Mauritania and Senegal to north western Cameroon, south-western Chad and far north-western Central African Republic.

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
stable

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

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Straw-tailed Whydah

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A nest parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of Purple Grenadiers. As with other whydahs, breeding males are spectacular, whereas non-breeding males and females are drab. Breeding males are mostly black, with golden-buff coloring on the cap, the belly, and the elongated central tail feathers. Non-breeding males and females have a brownish back, a golden-buff head, and a red bill. Found in rather dry savanna and cultivated areas. Non-breeding male and female can be identified by their red bill and their almost unmarked plain buff head. Not very vocal, but does imitate Purple Grenadier, and gives a quick jumble of high-pitched whistled notes. 

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