Brown Scrub-Robin ( Cercotrichas signata, family: Muscicapidae)

Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Brown Robin

brown scrub robin kruger national park birds The Brown Scrub-Robin (Latin name Cercotrichas signata) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 616 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 938 also a picture of the Brown Scrub-Robin on page 800. The Brown Scrub-Robin belongs to the family of birds classified as Muscicapidae.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Brown Scrub-Robin was called the Brown Robin. The Robert's 7 Latin name for Brown Scrub-Robin has changed from Erythropygia signata in Robert's 6 to Cercotrichas signata.

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

Endemic species is one that is confined to a specific country or region. For example certain birds endemic to South Africa only exist in that country. One such example is the Brown Scrub-Robin and this species depends upon a particular habitat for survival. Destroy that habitat and the bird will possibly be lost forever.

In terms of distribution of the Brown Scrub-Robin in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Brown Scrub-Robin has been recorded in only 1 sections of the arbitrary Kruger Park regions I selected.

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 Brown Scrub-Robin is an extremely small bird about half the size of a house sparrow. The height of the Brown Scrub-Robin is about 19 cms and its weight is about 35 gms

The male and female Brown Scrub-Robin have the same plumage and colours

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

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Brown Scrub-Robin feeds on the ground mainly

Invertebrates

Fruits

Seeds

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Brown Scrub-Robin is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Cercotrichas signata will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Brown Scrub-Robin is to create the nest in a hole in a tree trunk. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 3

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Brown Scrub-Robin are: woodlands and grasslands and riverine areas

You will normally see the Brown Scrub-Robin by itself rather than in the company of birds of the same species.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Bruinwipstert

German ... Natalheckensnger

Portuguese ... Rouxinol-do-mato-castanho

French ... Agrobate brun

Dutch ... Bruine Waaierstaart

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

Robert's 7th edition number ... 616

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