Mountain wheatear
| Mountain wheatear | ||||||||||||
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Mountain wheatear ( Myrmecocichla monticola ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Myrmecocichla monticola | ||||||||||||
| ( Vieillot , 1818) |
The mountain wheatear ( Myrmecocichla monticola , syn .: Oenanthe monticola ) is an insectivorous bird from the flycatcher -like family (Muscicapidae). It is a common resident bird in South Africa and Namibia as well as in the southern parts of Angola and Botswana . It prefers dry and hilly areas, but is also found in human settlements.
There are four subspecies, Myrmecocichla m. monticola in South Africa and southern Namibia, Myrmecocichla m. nigricauda in western Angola, Myrmecocichla m. atmorii in western Namibia, and Myrmecocichla m. albipileata in southwestern Angola.
With a length of 17 to 20 centimeters, the bird is slightly smaller than a thrush. Like other wheatears, it is characterized by a black T-shaped pattern on the tip of the tail, rump and outer tail feathers are white, the legs and the pointed beak are black. The male's striking black and white plumage is very variable, although the pattern of the tip of the tail and a white shoulder patch are always present. The dark plumage areas can vary from a pale gray to an almost pure black. The female is colored a dark brown except for the white rump and the black and white tail color. Young males are similar to females.
The singing is a free, pleasant whistle, mainly early in the morning and in the evening, sometimes also on moonlit nights.
The mountain wheatear is monogamous and lays two to four greenish-blue eggs with pink spots. It originally nests on the ground between or under rocks, but also under roofs and in nesting boxes. The nest consists of dry grass and other plant debris and has a bowl-shaped cavity lined with hair and fibers. It is built by the female alone in four to 14 days.
The breeding season is between September and January, rarely from June to March, and is 13 to 14 days, with only the female breeding. The young stay in the nest for about 16 days and are fed by both parents. A pair incubates two to three times a year.
The diet consists of insects, especially young grasshoppers. In populated areas, the bird is also attracted to birdhouses .
literature
- GR McLachlan et al .: Roberts Birds of South Africa. 4th edition. John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town 1982, ISBN 0-620-03118-2 .
Web links
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Oenanthe monticola in the Internet Bird Collection
- Myrmecocichla monticola inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2013.