Brubru
Encyclopedia
The Brubru is a member of the bushshrike
family found in much of sub-Saharan
Africa
apart from the western rainforest
s and southern South Africa
. It is the only member of the genus Nilaus.
and broadleaved woodland, whereas the three subspecies in a belt from northeastern Angola
and northern Namibia
east to Tanzania
and northern Mozambique
occur in Brachystegia
miombo
woodland.
, 12–15 cm long. The adult male of the nominate subspecies, N. a. afer, has a black crown, white supercilium
and forehead, and black eyestripe. The back is black with a tawny strip, the rump is mottled black, and the tail is black with white tips and edges to the outer feathers. The wings are black with a buff shoulder stripe. The underparts are white with rufous flanks.
The female is duller and browner, with some streaking on the underparts and less rufous on the flanks. The juvenile is mottled brown, buff and white above, with buff edgings to the wing and tail feathers. Its underparts are whitish with brown barring.
The male of the most distinctive of the other subspecies, N. a. nigritemporalis, occurring in the central belt across Africa, has no supercilium and a white, not buff, shoulder patch. Other subspecies differ in the extent of the supercilium and rufous flanks, and the shade and degree of streaking of the underparts.
The song is a duet. The male gives a soft prrrrruuu call, often answered by the female's eeeu.
s in the canopy. Its need for large trees in which to feed means that it has an unusually large territory for a bird of its size, typically 35 hectares. If insects are abundant, it will join mixed-species feeding flock
s.
s. It is very well camouflaged. The female normally lays two eggs, which are off-white, greenish or greyish blotched with grey or brown. Both sexes incubate for about 19 days to hatching. The chicks fledge in another 22 days but are dependent for about eight weeks.
This species often destroys its own nests, especially when disturbed.
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 found in much of sub-Saharan
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...
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...
apart from the western rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s and southern South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. It is the only member of the genus Nilaus.
Distribution and habitat
Its habitat is dry open woodland, but varies geographically. The six northern races and the subspecies N. a. brubru of southern Africa are found in acaciaAcacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
and broadleaved woodland, whereas the three subspecies in a belt from northeastern 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...
and northern Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
east to Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
and northern Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
occur in Brachystegia
Brachystegia
Brachystegia is a genus of tree of the sub-family Caesalpinioideae that is native to tropical Africa. Trees of the genus are commonly known as Miombo, and are the predominant tree in the Miombo woodlands of central and southern Africa.-Species:...
miombo
Miombo
Miombo is the Swahili word for Brachystegia, a genus of tree comprising a large number of species. Miombo woodland is classified in the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome...
woodland.
Description
The Brubru is a small passerinePasserine
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...
, 12–15 cm long. The adult male of the nominate subspecies, N. a. afer, has a black crown, 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...
and forehead, and black eyestripe. The back is black with a tawny strip, the rump is mottled black, and the tail is black with white tips and edges to the outer feathers. The wings are black with a buff shoulder stripe. The underparts are white with rufous flanks.
The female is duller and browner, with some streaking on the underparts and less rufous on the flanks. The juvenile is mottled brown, buff and white above, with buff edgings to the wing and tail feathers. Its underparts are whitish with brown barring.
The male of the most distinctive of the other subspecies, N. a. nigritemporalis, occurring in the central belt across Africa, has no supercilium and a white, not buff, shoulder patch. Other subspecies differ in the extent of the supercilium and rufous flanks, and the shade and degree of streaking of the underparts.
The song is a duet. The male gives a soft prrrrruuu call, often answered by the female's eeeu.
Behaviour
The Brubru is usually solitary or in pairs; it is a restless but unobtrusive arboreal species which hunts insectInsect
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 in the canopy. Its need for large trees in which to feed means that it has an unusually large territory for a bird of its size, typically 35 hectares. If insects are abundant, it will join mixed-species feeding flock
Mixed-species feeding flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species, that join each other and move together while foraging...
s.
Breeding
The flimsy cup nest is constructed from twigs, grass and spider webs in a tree fork, and decorated with lichenLichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
s. It is very well camouflaged. The female normally lays two eggs, which are off-white, greenish or greyish blotched with grey or brown. Both sexes incubate for about 19 days to hatching. The chicks fledge in another 22 days but are dependent for about eight weeks.
This species often destroys its own nests, especially when disturbed.