Bar-throated Apalis ( Apalis thoracica, family: Cisticolidae)

bar throated apalis kruger national park birds The Bar-throated Apalis (Latin name Apalis thoracica) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 645 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 850 also a picture of the Bar-throated Apalis on page 864. The Bar-throated Apalis belongs to the family of birds classified as Cisticolidae.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Bar-throated Apalis is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.

In terms of distribution of the Bar-throated Apalis in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Bar-throated Apalis : see above distribution map.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Bar-throated Apalis is a small bird about the size of a house sparrow. Do not take this relative indicator as anything other than a rough easy to remember indicator. It is not a accurate visualization. The height of the Bar-throated Apalis is about 13 cms and its weight is about 10 gms

The male and female Bar-throated Apalis have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is brown.
  • Eye is white.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is black.
  • Back is brown.
  • Legs are yellow.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Bar-throated Apalis feeds on the ground, on the wing and in foliage mainly

Invertebrates

Fruits

Seeds

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Bar-throated Apalis is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Apalis thoracica will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Bar-throated Apalis is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are green in colour and number between 2 to 4

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Bar-throated Apalis are: woodlands and grasslands and riverine areas

You will normally see the Bar-throated Apalis in pairs or flocks and not as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Ugxakhweni

Zulu ... uMabhelwane

Afrikaans ...Bandkeelkleinjantjie

German ... Halsband-Feinsnger

Portuguese ... Apalis-de-coleira

French ... Apalis collier

Dutch ... Halsbandapalis

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 645

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za