Get to know the chinspot batis – bird of the week
They display above trees and over open spaces with noisy wing snaps doing a bounce at each snap.
A common resident with seasonal movement in the South East and North East of South Africa.
They like woodland, savanna, bushveld and riverine thickets where they feed on insects and spiders. Usually solitary or in pairs, they forage mostly in the canopy of trees.
They display above trees and over open spaces with noisy wing snaps doing a bounce at each snap.
These batis are fairly tame, singing with a plaintive piping weep – woop – wurp sometimes with a rolling quality kreep – kroop.
When alarmed they sound like fine sandpaper on wood.
Breeding takes place from October to December. The nest is a small, strong cup of plant fibre bound with spider web and decorated on the outside with flakes of lichen.
Invariably two spotted pale green/ bluish eggs are laid. Incubation period is 16 to 18 days and they are nestlings for the same period.
The Zulu name is umNqube and in Afrikaans die witliesbosbontrokkie.
DID YOU KNOW?
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