Southern Black-Tit

Melaniparus niger

A large, active, noisy black tit with white shoulders, white edgings to the wing feathers, and a barred gray-and-white undertail. Pairs and small groups form the core of mixed-species feeding flocks in broadleaf woodland and thorn scrub. The species is often detected by its noisy buzzing and chirping vocalizations, including a sweet-and-scratchy “diddy-dzee-dzee-dzee-dzee-dzee.” The very similar Carp’s Tit is black under the tail; ranges only narrowly overlap.

识别特征

The southern black tit, unlike parids of the Northern Hemisphere or other local species, is almost entirely monotone in colour and sexually somewhat dimorphic, with the female being greyish and the male very distinctly blue-black in colour. It can be distinguished from the white-winged tit and Carp's tit by having no white rim in its tail and is around 16 centimetres (6 in) in total length including the tail.

分类信息

The southern black tit was formerly one of the many species in the genus Parus but was moved to Melaniparus after a molecular phylogenetic analysis published in 2013 showed that the members of the new genus formed a distinct clade.

学名
Melaniparus niger
命名信息
(Vieillot, 1818)
Passeriformes
Paridae
Melaniparus

分布与栖息地

It occurs chiefly in tropical and subtropical savanna woodland, in a semicircular arc from Angola to the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It prefers woodland dominated by broad-leaved trees, most importantly miombo, Combretum species, and Burkea africana. It is especially common in the woodlands of western Zimbabwe, where densities can reach as high as fifty birds per square kilometre.

迁徙
Resident species

保护状况

种群趋势
stable

照片

分布

鸟叫声

其他鸟类

Black Oriole

Black Oriole

Oriolus hosii

Unique dark oriole with a restricted range: found only in montane and submontane forests in northwestern Borneo, primarily within the Paya Maga highlands of Sarawak state. Male is inky black all over with a slight blue gloss. Female has a gray belly. Both sexes have a bright red bill and dark rust-red vent. Forages quietly in the canopy, often alone, but sometimes in pairs or small groups. Short echoing song can be likened to “woo-wich’ew!”.

Green-headed Oriole

Green-headed Oriole

Oriolus chlorocephalus

Old World oriole with mostly yellow plumage, a dull-green hood, and a red bill. Found in forest, forest edge, lush woodland, and adjacent secondary habitats, at low and middle elevations. Song is a series of slurred, liquid whistles, and calls include a raspy, up-slurred whine. Similar to African Black-headed Oriole, but with a good view, easily separated by the green rather than black hood. Often found in the same areas as Eurasian Golden and African Golden Orioles, but distinguished by being hooded rather than yellow-headed.

Plain Pigeon

Plain Pigeon

Patagioenas inornata

A large pale pigeon of woodlands and forest edges; often found perching high in trees. Its ruddy shoulders and unbanded tail readily separate it from the similar Ring-tailed Pigeon. When perched, note the whispy whitish leading edge to wing, seen as a bar on upperwing in flight, that is suggestive of White-winged Dove, but that species has brighter white wing markings and is smaller. Scaly-naped and White-crowned Pigeons are much darker. Call is a soft, deep “HOOO-hoo-hoooo” and variations thereof but never similar to “oooOOO-hooo” of Ring-tailed Pigeon.

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Southern Black-Tit | 鸟镜