Southern Black-Flycatcher
Melaenornis pammelaina
A slim and lustrous glossy-black flycatcher with upright posture, dark brown eyes, and a straight-edged square tail. Females are less glossy, and juveniles are spotted brown. Singles, pairs, or small groups frequent woodland, savanna, forest edge, and parkland, where they join mixed-species flocks. This species perches on branches and either pounces to the ground to hunt prey or pursues passing insects; it often associates with Fork-tailed Drongo, which it may imitate. The call is a three-note “tseeep-tsoo-tsoo.” The similar Fork-tailed Drongo differs by having red eyes and a forked tail, and Northern Black-Flycatcher differs by having dull matte black rather than glossy plumage.
识别特征
The southern black flycatcher is entirely black, with a black beak and black legs. The iris of the eye is brown and this, along with the square-cut tail, helps distinguish it from the otherwise similar fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis) which has a red iris and long forked tail.
分类信息
- 学名
- Melaenornis pammelaina
- 命名信息
- (Stanley, 1814)
- 目
- Passeriformes
- 科
- Muscicapidae
- 属
- Melaenornis
分布与栖息地
The southern black flycatcher is native to eastern and southern Africa. It has been recorded from Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Namibia, Eswatini, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa. It is typically found in habitats with open areas and light woodland, riparian corridors, the edges of plantations and in gardens. The trees in these habitats include miombo (Brachystegia spp.), thorntrees (Acacia spp.) and mopane (Colosphermum mopane).
- 迁徙
- Resident species
行为
The southern black flycatcher is a mainly insectivorous bird. Its diet includes beetles, termites, locusts, worms, spiders and centipedes. Its main foraging technique is to perch on a low eminence such as a branch or fence post and pounce on prey in the air or on the ground below. It is also known to sip nectar from the flowers of mountain aloe (Aloe marlothii) and to eat the berries of the black nightshade (Solanum nigrum). It sometimes forages in small flocks, often associating with fork-tailed drongos. Possible benefits for this association is a lower predation risk and a higher foraging success.<p>Breeding takes place between May and January, peaking in September and October. The nest is usually built in a recess in a tree trunk or behind a loose slab of bark, but is sometimes in a tangle of creepers, the sheath of a palm frond, banana bunch or an abandoned farm implement. It is cup-shaped and composed of twigs and dry grasses, lined with fine rootlets. Up to four eggs are laid and incubation lasts about two weeks with the young fledging and leaving the nest in fifteen to twenty days.
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- stable
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Flores Green-Pigeon
Treron floris
A small, largely green pigeon with bold, scattered pale markings on its wings. Adults show largely pale bills while immatures have dark bills. Small groups found in varied habitats with trees, from forests to open woodlands. In most of its range it is the only Treron green-pigeon, but where it overlaps with Pink-necked Green-Pigeon, note the extensive pale markings on the wing of Flores Green-Pigeon and the absence of a pink-orange breast patch. Song is a series of soft whistles, “woo-wo-OW,” rising at end. Also gives harsher guttural notes.
Kuhl's Lorikeet
Vini kuhlii
Luminous, short-tailed parrot with a cherry-red throat and breast, green upperparts, and finely hooked orange bill. Also note the spiky feathers making up the green-and-blue crown. Endemic to the Polynesian Cook Islands, where it is native to Rimatara and introduced (or reintroduced) to others, including Atiu, where it occurred historically. Forages in a variety of wooded island habitats, including coconut plantations. Gives a variety of high-pitched calls, including a gratingly shrill and garbled screech.
Black-breasted Myzomela
Myzomela vulnerata
A distinctive small black, white, and red honeyeater with a downcurved bill. Jet black with diagnostic red patches on rear crown, throat, and rump, as well as a clean white belly. The black areas are gray on juveniles. Singles or pairs found in forest, forest edge, and scrub within the lowlands and foothills on Timor. Unmistakable in its limited range. Simple, very high-pitched song consists of rapid-fire notes, “si-si-si-si-si-si-si”; also gives “zit” call notes.
开始您的观鸟之旅
在户外识别鸟类，并在下一次观察时随手查阅鸟类图鉴。