Prinia hypoxantha (Drakensberg prinia) 

Drakensberglangstertjie [Afrikaans]; Prinia du Drakensberg [French]; Gelbbauchprinie [German]

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates)  > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class: Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial vertebrates) > Tetrapoda (four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota > Reptilia (reptiles) > Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria > Dinosauria (dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) > Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves (birds) > Order: Passeriformes > Family: Cisticolidae > Genus: Prinia

Drakensberg prinia. [photo Callie de Wet ©]	Drakensberg prinia, Base of Sani Pass, South Africa. [photo Trevor Hardaker ©]

Distribution and habitat

Endemic to South Africa and Swaziland, occurring from the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Free State Province to Swaziland, Mpumalanga and Lesotho. It generally prefers dense grass and shrubs at the bases of valleys, or along hillsides or watercourses.

Food 

It mainly eats insects, gleaning them from the leaves and stems of grass and shrubs. The following food items have been recorded in its diet:

• Insects
  • Coleoptera (beetles)
    • Scarabaeidae (beetles)
    • Curculionidae (weevils)
  • Diptera (flies)
  • ants
• Nectar of Aloe ferox (Bitter aloe)

Breeding

• The nest is oval-shaped with a side-top entrance, built of woven green grass which dry to a pale brown colour. It is typically placed in a bush or dense weed, up to about a metre above ground.
• Egg-laying season in KwaZulu-Natal is from October-February, peaking from November-January.
• It lays 2-4 eggs, which in one observation where incubated for 14 days.
• The chicks are fed by both parents, leaving the nest after approximately 15 days.

Threats

Not threatened.

References

• Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005. Roberts - Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town. 

• Harrison, J.A., Allan, D.G., Underhill, L.G., Herremans, M., Tree. A.J., Parker, V. & Brown, C.J. (eds). 1997. The atlas of southern African birds. Vol. 2: Passerines. BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg.