THE whitethroated robin-chat is distributed in Zululand, Swaziland, Southern Mozambique, and North West and Limpopo provinces.
These robins are either solitary or found in pairs.
They like thorn thickets, riverine bush, forests, low dense woodland with under-story of grass and herbs. They forage on the ground with quick hops and are most active in the late evening.
Their voice is a strong, sustained jumble of piping, twittering and other musical notes, imitating other birds calls with each bout lasting up to 10 seconds. They are mainly vocal in the winter months.
Food preferences are insects, other invertebrates including spiders, centipedes and berries.
Breeding takes place in September and October. They lay two to three cream or pinkish cream eggs in a nest built with petioles and grass in a foundation of sticks and dead leaves.
Very demanding #redchestedcuckoo being fed by #whitethroatedrobinchat
Incubation is 14 to 15 days and they are nestlings for the same period. There is no Zulu name and Afrikaans Witkeeljanfrederik.
Look out for next week’s Kalahari robin.
