20-5-2019 BUMI HILLS, ZIMBABWE - BLACK CROWNED TCHAGRA (Tchagra senegalus)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-crowned_tchagra

19-5-2019 BUMI HILLS, ZIMBABWE - BLACK CROWNED TCHAGRA (Tchagra senegalus)

The Black-crowned Tchagra (Tchagra senegalus) is a distinctive African and Arabian bushshrike known for its bold black crown, eye stripes, and white eyebrows, feeding on insects and small creatures in dry woodlands, often calling with rising, musical scales, and building cup nests bound with spiderwebs in thorny bushes. They are solitary or in pairs, run quickly to cover, and their calls can be mimicked to attract them. 

Key Facts:

Appearance: Black crown, black eye stripes, broad white supercilium (eyebrow), pale brown back, grey belly, chestnut wing edges, black tail with white tip.

Habitat: Dry, thorny savannahs, open woodlands, forest edges, semi-desert, and gardens across Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

Diet: Primarily insects (grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars), spiders, and termites, but also small frogs, lizards, and snakes.

Foraging: Forages on or near the ground, running and hopping, flicking debris with its bill; also gleans from vegetation.

Vocalization: Famous for its unique, musical call that ascends in pitch and speed, often described as playing a penny whistle.

Nesting: Builds a shallow, cup-shaped nest of twigs, roots, and spiderwebs in low, dense bushes; both parents build and incubate.

Behavior: Solitary or in pairs, runs very fast to cover when threatened, generally discreet but tolerant of humans.

Name: "Tchagra" is an onomatopoeia for its grating call.