A common resident over most of South Africa and Southern Namibia.
Favours evergreen forest, riverine bush, exotic plantations, gardens, parks and orchards. Usually singly or in pairs. Forages on ground, running, stopping and pecking at ground or leaf matter.
Shy when in forest habitat, otherwise becomes tame. Likes feeding on open lawns and shrubbery where insects, molluscs, spiders, small lizards, fish, nestling birds, fruit and seeds are taken.
They have a tseep call when disturbed flying up to a tree. They also start singing before dawn with varied fluty, trilled notes weety – weety – weety – prrr, mostly in Spring and Autumn, but usually silent in mid-summer.
Breeding takes place August to January. The nest is a large bowl of coarse leaves, grass, twigs and moss, lined with mud. Usually two rich, greenish-blue spotted eggs are laid. The incubation lasts 14 days by the female only and they are nestlings for 16 days.
The Zulu name is umuNswi and in Afrikaans die olyflyster.
