Black-crowned Tchagra
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| Black-crowned Tchagra | ||||||||||||||
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| Missing image Tchagra791.jpg Black-crowned Tchagra | ||||||||||||||
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| Tchagra senegala Linnaeus,, 1766 |
Black-crowned Tchagra (Tchagra senegala) is a bushshrike. This family of passerine birds is closely related to the true shrikes in the family Lanidae, and were once included in that group.
This species is found in the Arabian peninsula and most of Africa in scrub, open woodland, semi-desert and cultivation. It lays two or three eggs in a cup nest in a tree or bush.
It is similar in habits to the shrikes, hunting insects and other small prey from a perch in a bush, although it sits less conspicuously than true shrikes.
Black-crowned Tchagra is a colourful and unmistakable species. It has a black crown and eye stripes separated by a broad white supercilium. The underparts are pale grey and the upperparts pale brown. The folded wings are chestnut and the tail is black, tipped white. The bill is black.
Sexes are similar, but young birds have a brown cap and a pale yellow bill.
Black-crowned Tchagra has a descending whistling song, Chee-chee chee cheroo cheroo, and can be readily tempted in to sight by imitating this call, presumably because the bird is concerned that there is an intruder in its territory. The male also has a switchback display flight.
Reference
- Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1