Abyssinian slaty flycatcher

Melaenornis chocolatinus

SUBFAMILY

Muscicapinae

TAXONOMY

Melaenornis chocolatina Rüppell, 1840.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Chocolate flycatcher; slaty flycatcher; French: Gobemouche chocolat; German: Habeschdrongoschnäpper; Spanish: Papamoscas Etíope.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The body length is about 5.5 in (15 cm). The sexes are colored similarly, with a dark-brown back, grayer belly, light under the rump, and buff on breast.

DISTRIBUTION

An endemic (or local) species of the highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea.

HABITAT

Occurs in a range of types of humid, highland forest and woods and coffee plantations as high as 8,200 ft (2,500 m).

BEHAVIOR

A nonmigratory species. Pairs of breeding birds defend a territory. Sometimes wags its tail while perched. The song is a simple, high-pitched phrase of three or four notes.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Hunts from a perch in the forest canopy for flying insects.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Builds a cup-shaped nest at a narrow fork of a horizontal tree branch. Lays three blue-gray, blotched eggs.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened. A rare endemic species but locally abundant.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known, except for the economic benefits of birdwatching.