Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin

Overview

The rufous-tailed scrub robin, Cercotrichas galactotes, is a medium-sized passerine in the family Muscicapidae, also known as the rufous bush chat or rufous warbler. It is a partial migrant that breeds across the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa, with some populations migrating to winter in southern Africa and India.

Identification

• Approximately 150 mm long with relatively long pale brown legs and a large rounded tail.
• Brownish-chestnut upper parts, buffish-white underparts, and a prominent creamy-white supercilium contrasting with a dark eye-stripe.
• The long rufous tail is often fanned, revealing black and white tips on the feathers.
• Vocalises with a somewhat lark-like, disjointed song that is frequently described as having a sad tone.

Habitat

It inhabits dry, open scrubby country with dense bushes in lowlands or foothills, and where abundant, it may also occur in parks, vineyards, and large gardens. Its breeding range spans from Portugal and the Balkans to Pakistan, and in Africa from Morocco to Somalia, though it is an uncommon vagrant to northern Europe.

Diet

Feeds primarily on the ground on insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, and lepidopteran larvae, as well as earthworms. It forages by turning over leaf litter to uncover prey and is often seen hopping and flaring its tail while searching.

Did you know?

Nests are sometimes lined with a piece of snakeskin. This species may also form interspecific anti-predator associations with the woodchat shrike, recognising the shrike's alarm calls and sharing the duty of luring predators away.