Streaked Scrub Warbler

Overview

The streaked scrub warbler (Scotocerca inquieta) is a small passerine bird and the only species in the genus Scotocerca. It is found in northern Africa and south-western Asia, where it is mainly resident, though local movements may occur outside the breeding season.

Identification

• Small, skulking desert warbler that often cocks its tail over its back.
• Adults are grey-brown above with fine dark brown streaks, a broad pale supercilium, and a thin black eyestripe.
• Underparts are whitish with a finely streaked breast and reddish flanks and vent; the tail is graduated, dark brown, and tipped with white.
• Song is distinctive, rendered as "zit-zit dweedle-doolredle-doleed".

Habitat

It inhabits open desert with sparse scrub cover, particularly wadi beds, scree areas, ravines, and gorges with bushes. Its range spans northern Africa and south-western Asia, including regions from Mauritania to Pakistan.

Diet

Its main food consists of insects, though it also eats seeds, which may be very important in winter. It forages on the ground by fossicking through leaf litter and debris under bushes, into cavities, and occasionally in the vegetation.

Did you know?

The nest is a domed structure made of grass and twigs lined with feathers, fur, and plant down, and features one or two side entrances, with a second entrance used only as an exit.