Tchagra
Encyclopedia
The Tchagras are passerine
bird
s in the bushshrike
family, which are closely related to the true shrike
s in the family Laniidae, and were once included in that group. These five species form the genus Tchagra within the bushshrike family:
The Marsh Tchagra is sometimes placed in the monotypic genus Antichromus, and then named as Blackcap Bushshrike. The dark Angola
n subspecies of Marsh Tchagra was formerly sometimes split as Anchieta's Tchagra, Tchagra anchietae, named after Portuguese
explorer José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta
by his zoologist compatriot José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage
in 1869.
These are long-tailed birds, typically with a grey or grey-brown back, brown wings and grey and whitish underparts. The head pattern is distinctive, with a dark cap and black eyestripe separated by a white supercilium
. The bill is strong and hooked.
The male and female are similar in plumage in all tchagra species, but distinguishable from immature birds.
These are solitary birds which tend to skulk low down or on the ground. They have distinctive whistled calls and can be readily tempted into sight by imitating the call, presumably because the tchagra is concerned that there is an intruder in its territory.
These are species typically of scrub, open woodland, semi-desert and cultivation in sub-Sahara
n Africa
. They hunt large insect
s from a low perch in a bush, and the larger species like Black-crowned Tchagra
will also take vertebrate
prey such as frogs and snakes.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s in the bushshrike
Bushshrike
The bushshrikes are smallish passerine bird species. They were formerly classed with the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, but are now considered sufficiently distinctive to be separated from that group as the family Malaconotidae....
family, which are closely related to the true shrike
Shrike
Shrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of thirty-one species in three genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes were also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits...
s in the family Laniidae, and were once included in that group. These five species form the genus Tchagra within the bushshrike family:
- Marsh TchagraMarsh TchagraThe Marsh Tchagra is a species of bird in the Malaconotidae family.It is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra...
, Tchagra minuta - Black-crowned TchagraBlack-crowned TchagraThe Black-crowned Tchagra is a bushshrike. This family of passerine birds is closely related to the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, and was once included in that group....
, Tchagra senegala - Brown-crowned TchagraBrown-crowned TchagraThe Brown-crowned Tchagra is a species of bird in the Malaconotidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique,...
or Brown-headed Tchagra, Tchagra australis - Three-streaked TchagraThree-streaked TchagraThe Three-streaked Tchagra is a species of bird in the Malaconotidae family.It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland....
, Tchagra jamesi - Southern TchagraSouthern TchagraThe Southern Tchagra is a passerine bird found in dense scrub and coastal bush in southern and south-eastern South Africa and Swaziland....
, Tchagra tchagra
The Marsh Tchagra is sometimes placed in the monotypic genus Antichromus, and then named as Blackcap Bushshrike. The dark Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
n subspecies of Marsh Tchagra was formerly sometimes split as Anchieta's Tchagra, Tchagra anchietae, named after Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
explorer José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta
José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta
José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta was a 19th century Portuguese explorer and naturalist who, between 1866 and 1897, travelled extensively in Angola, Africa, collecting animals and plants...
by his zoologist compatriot José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage
José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage
José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage was a Portuguese zoologist and politician. He was the curator of Zoology at the Museum of Natural History in Lisbon. He published numerous works on mammals, birds, and fishes. In the 1880s he became the Minister of the Navy and later the Minister for Foreign Affairs...
in 1869.
These are long-tailed birds, typically with a grey or grey-brown back, brown wings and grey and whitish underparts. The head pattern is distinctive, with a dark cap and black eyestripe separated by a white supercilium
Supercilium
The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head. Also known as an "eyebrow", it is distinct from the eyestripe, which is a line which runs...
. The bill is strong and hooked.
The male and female are similar in plumage in all tchagra species, but distinguishable from immature birds.
These are solitary birds which tend to skulk low down or on the ground. They have distinctive whistled calls and can be readily tempted into sight by imitating the call, presumably because the tchagra is concerned that there is an intruder in its territory.
These are species typically of scrub, open woodland, semi-desert and cultivation in sub-Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
n Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. They hunt large insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s from a low perch in a bush, and the larger species like Black-crowned Tchagra
Black-crowned Tchagra
The Black-crowned Tchagra is a bushshrike. This family of passerine birds is closely related to the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, and was once included in that group....
will also take vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
prey such as frogs and snakes.