The dapple-throat (''Arcanator orostruthus'') is a species of bird in the small African family

Modulatricidae Modulatricidae is a small family of passerine birds which are restricted to Africa. These species have been taxonomic enigmas in the past, having been moved between the families Muscicapidae, Turdidae, and Timaliidae ''sensu lato''; they are no ...

. Other common names include dappled mountain robin and dappled mountain greenbul. It is native to

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. This is the only species in the

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

''Arcanator''. This species has a

disjunct distribution In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but considerably separated from each other geographically. The causes are varied and might demonstrate either the expansion or contraction of a s ...

, occurring in a few mountain ranges, including the

Usambara The Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania in tropical East Africa, comprise the easternmost ranges of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The ranges of approximately long and about half that wide, are situated in the Lushoto District of the Tanga ...

and

Udzungwa Mountains The Udzungwa Mountains are a mountain range in south-central Tanzania. The mountains are mostly within Iringa Region, south of Tanzania's capital Dodoma. The Udzungwa Mountains are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, and are home to a biodiverse ...

in Tanzania and the

Njesi Highlands The Njesi Highlands ( Portuguese: ''Serra Jeci'') are a range of mountains in northern Mozambique. Geography The highlands rise east of Lake Malawi in the western portion of Mozambique's Niassa Province. They are north of Lichinga, the provinci ...

and

Mount Mabu Mount Mabu is a mountain in northern Mozambique, famous for its old-growth rain forest. Mount Mabu is approximately high and the forest covers about . While well known locally, the Mount Mabu forest and its extremely diverse wildlife were unkn ...

in northern Mozambique. It lives in dense, wet mountain forest habitat. It can be found in the leaf litter near streams, where it seeks insects. Most all of the native habitat is degraded or otherwise influenced by human activity. Much of the forest has been cleared for agricultural purposes.

Logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

also occurs, especially to obtain timber from the forest tree '' Faurea wentzeliana''; this reduces the density of the forest, reducing habitat quality for the bird. Some populations are in protected areas, but the species is thought to be in general decline.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q370154 Modulatricidae Birds of East Africa Birds described in 1933 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot