The Kalahari scrub robin (''Cercotricha paena'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the family

Muscicapidae The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, Bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica)'' and Northe ...

. It is sometimes known as the sandy scrub robin.

Range

It is found in southern

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, northern

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

, where it occurs in sandveld with low trees and scrub, on the edges of woodland, and in savanna. It will also inhabit human-altered environments including old fields and gardens. The species is common and not considered

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

by human activities.

Breeding

The Kalahari scrub robin is a seasonal breeder, with the season stretching from August to February, and peaking in November, also the peak of the wet season. The species is monogamous and

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

, with territory sizes varying from 0.7 - 4.3 ha. Females are responsible for constructing the

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...

, which are weaved of shrubs and grasses and placed in low thorny bushes. The nest building stage takes around 5 days. The average

clutch size __NOTOC__ A clutch of egg (biology), eggs is the group of eggs produced by birds, amphibians, or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest. In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators (or removal by humans, for exam ...

is about two, although clutch size is bigger later in the season. Only the female incubates the eggs, the male defends the nest, aggressively attacking intruders and warning when predators approach. The incubation lasts around 12 days. Having hatched the female removes the eggshells from the nests and drops them away from the nest to disguise the nest from potential predators. After hatching the female broods the chicks for a between 3–7 days. Both parents feed the chicks and remove the chick's

faecal sac A fecal sac (also spelled faecal sac) is a mucous membrane, generally white or clear with a dark end, that surrounds the feces of some species of nestling birds. It allows parent birds to more easily remove fecal material from the nest. The ne ...

s. The chicks are

altricial In biology, altricial species are those in which the young are underdeveloped at the time of birth, but with the aid of their parents mature after birth. Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the mome ...

when they hatch, and take around 12 days to fledge.

Gallery

File:Kalahari scrub robin, Erythropygia paena at Pilanesberg National Park, Northwest Province, South Africa. Taken in early sunrise light. (15604636923).jpg, File:Kalahari scrub robin, Erythropygia paena at Pilanesberg National Park, Northwest Province, South Africa (17267593228).jpg,

References

External links

* Kalahari (scrub) robin
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2827231 Kalahari scrub robin Birds of Southern Africa Kalahari scrub robin Taxonomy articles created by Polbot