| Karoo prinia | |
|---|---|
_Prinia_(10537833606).jpg) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Cisticolidae |
| Genus: | Prinia |
| Species: | P. maculosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Prinia maculosa (Boddaert, 1783) | |
TheKaroo prinia orspotted prinia (Prinia maculosa) is a smallpasserinebird. It is a resident breeder inSouth Africa,Lesotho and far southernNamibia.
It is a species found inkaroo scrub,fynbos andbracken-covered slopes in semi-desert and mountains. The former eastern subspeciesP. m. hypoxantha is now usually considered to be a separate species, theDrakensberg prinia,P. hypoxantha.
The Karoo prinia was described by the French polymathGeorges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1779 in hisHistoire Naturelle des Oiseaux.[2] The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved byFrançois-Nicolas Martinet in thePlanches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle, which was produced under the supervision ofEdme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text.[3] Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalistPieter Boddaert coined thebinomial nameMontacilla maculosa in his catalogue of thePlanches Enluminées.[4] Buffon believed that his specimen had come from theCape of Good Hope. Thetype locality was changed toSwellendam, in South Africa, byPhillip Clancey in 1963.[5][6] The Karoo prinia is now placed in thegenusPrinia that was introduced by the American naturalistThomas Horsfield in 1821.[7][8] The name of the genus is derived from theJavaneseprinya, the local name for thebar-winged prinia (Prinia familiaris). The specificmaculosa is from the Latinmaculosus meaning "spotted".[9]
Threesubspecies are recognised:[8]
The Karoo prinia is 13–15 cm (5.1–5.9 in) long, with short rounded wings, a longish tail, strong legs and a short straight black bill. The head has a whitisheyebrow and the upperparts are otherwise brown. The throat and lower face are whitish with dark streaking and the rest of the underparts are yellowish white or yellow with distinct black streaking. The long tail has a dark spot near the end and is typically cocked up at an angle. The feet and legs are pinkish-brown, and the eye is dark brown. The sexes are identical, but juveniles are much yellower below than the adults and less heavily streaked.
The calls of this species include a sharpchleet-chleet-chleet-chleet-chleet-chleet, and a fast buzzytit-tit-tit-tit-tit.
The Karoo prinia can only be confused with the closely related Drakensberg prinia, but has less yellow underparts with heavier spotting than that species.
The Karoo prinia builds a thin-walled oval nest with a side entrance from green grass. It is well hidden deep inside a leafy shrub or bush. Breeding is from August to September in areas with winter rainfall, but later (up to December) elsewhere.
The Karoo prinia is usually seen in pairs or small groups, typically low in scrub, but sometimes perching on the top of a bush. It actively forages for smallinsects, with tail cocked and frequently swung side-to-side.
This common species has a large range, with an estimated extent of 670,000 km2. The population size is believed to be large, and the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of theIUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated asLeast Concern.[1]
