Bird of the Week – Tawny-flanked prinia
The tribal name is umgcuze and in Afrikaans, die bruinsylangstertjie.
THE Tawny-flanked prinia is confined to the moister East and North East parts of South Africa.
In KZN region, it is a common, active and vocal resident.
They like rank grass, weeds or bushes which is among scattered trees, usually along streams and ponds, gardens and the edges of old cultivated land, being more arboreal in winter than summer.
They are found in pairs or small groups, and they keep in contact with calls of a monotonous ‘przzt, przzt, przzt’ or sharper ‘tsip, tsip, tsip’.
LISTEN:
They forage low down in bushes, shrubs or grass, but also in trees, especially during the dry season. They are usually tame, being lively and active, swinging and wagging their cocked tail sideways. The tawny-flanked prinia’s food preference is insects and nectar.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIz33iaBHih/
Breeding season is from September to March. The birds build a thin-walled oval nest with a side-topped entrance which is lined with woven, narrow, green grass blades which dry firm and brown.
Usually three to four variably coloured eggs are laid. Incubation is 13 to 14 days and the chicks are nestlings for 14 to 15 days.
The tribal name is umgcuze and in Afrikaans, die bruinsylangstertjie.
