Black-headed batis

Batis minor

(Photo from Adventure Camps of Tanzania)

Common name:
black-headed batis (en); papa-moscas-de-cabeça-preta (pt); pririt à joues noires (fr); batis carinegro (es); keniaschnäpper (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Platysteiridae

Range:
An African species, the black-headed batis is present in sub-saharan Africa from Chad, the Central African Republic and Ethiopia in the north, down to Angola and Tanzania.

Size:
A small and stout passerine, the black-headed batis has a wingspan of 13-14 cm.

Habitat:
Typically found in sub-tropical or tropical dry forests. Also common in moist savanna and schrubland near lakes and rivers.

Diet:
The most important component of their diet are insect, although spiders, milipedes and scorpions may also be taken. Amongst the insect prey a number of different types are eaten, including beetles, grasshoppers and other Orthoptera, flies, mosquitoes, wasps, termites and mantises.

Breeding:
This species can be found nesting from May to August. They build a nest on the branches of a thorny bush or tree, often Acacia or Euphorbia. The clutch size if often 2 and both parents feed the chicks until fledging.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
The wide breeding range and their widespread abundance suggests no serious threats to this species at present.