African Wildlife & Environment Issue 83

BIRDING

primary feathers. Pairs may be spaced 150 meters from one another. The bulky, untidy nest is a dome-shape structure composed of small sticks, grass and dry leaves. The inside is lined with finer twigs, tendrils, and some dry leaves. It is placed 2 to 8 meters above ground in the fork of a sapling, or in the thorny and leafy branches of Senegalia ataxacantha, Ziziphus mucronata, Ximenia or Dichrostachys cinerea to name but a few. A projecting lip beside the side entrance is used as a landing platform.

Egg-laying occurs from November to December in southeastern Africa, and the birds fall silent once incubation starts.Three to four eggs are laid. They are white or cream in colour, and flecked with grey undermarking, and liver-red to blackish brown markings near the thicker end. They measure 28 by 23.5 mm The nestlings are fully reliant on their parents and stay at the nest for a long time after hatching, due to dependence on the parents for feeding and protection.

42 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 83 (2023)