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Bradypterus baboecala (Little
rush-warbler, African sedge-warbler)
Kaapse vleisanger [Afrikaans]; Unomakhwane [Xhosa];
Moeras-struikzanger [Dutch]; Bouscarle caqueteuse [French];
Sumpfbuschsänger [German]; Felosa-dos-juncos-africana [Portuguese]
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: Sylviidae > Genus: Bradypterus
Distribution and habitat
Although it occurs locally further north, the bulk of its
population occupies the area from southern DRC through Zambia and Angola to
southern Africa. Here it is common in marshes, streams and rivers populated by
sedge, such as Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) and Bulrushes (Typha capensis).
It may also move into seasonally flooded grassland and sewage ponds.
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Distribution of Little rush-warbler in southern
Africa, based on statistical smoothing of the records from first SA Bird
Atlas Project (©
Animal Demography unit, University of
Cape Town; smoothing by Birgit Erni and Francesca Little). Colours range
from dark blue (most common) through to yellow (least common).
See here for the latest distribution
from the SABAP2. |
Food
Its feeding habits are little known, partly because it
forages near the waterline in sedges or reeds, making it very hard to observe.
All that is known of its diet is that it eats small insects and ant eggs.
Breeding
- The nest is a deep, untidy cup built of reeds or coarse grass, typically
placed at the base of a clump of sedge near the waters edge.
- Egg-laying season is from September-March, peaking from
December-January,
- It lays 2-3 eggs, which are incubated for about 12-14 days.
- The chicks are fed by both adults, leaving the nest after about 12-13
days.
Threats
Not threatened.
References
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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.
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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.
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