White-browed Robin-Chat

Overview

The white-browed robin-chat, also known as Heuglin's robin, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae found in east, central, and southern Africa. It is classified as a least-concern species by the IUCN due to its large range and stable population trend.

Identification

• Length of 19–20 cm with a bright orange-rufous underside and an olive grey-brown back.
• Distinctive black crown and face featuring a white supercilium above dark brown eyes.
• Rump is rufous, and the tail has olive-brown central feathers with orange-rufous outer feathers.
• Melodious song given at dawn and dusk, starting quiet and becoming louder, often featuring repeated phrases like 'pip-pip-uree'.

Habitat

Found in riverine forests, thickets, and gardens across a wide range that includes Angola, Botswana, South Africa, and other parts of east, central, and southern Africa. Elevation varies by region, reaching up to 2,200 m in East Africa but generally staying below 1,000 m south of the Limpopo River.

Diet

The diet consists of ants, termites, beetles, other insects and arthropods, frogs, and fruits. It is also known to bathe in water.

Did you know?

In southern Africa, the species' range in KwaZulu-Natal expanded from the 1950s to the 1970s, but this expansion may have been halted by a tropical cyclone in 1987. It has been observed nesting on occupied buildings' walls and trellises covered with climbing plants.