Black-chested Prinia ( Prinia flavicans, family: Cisticolidae)

black chested prinia kruger national park birds The Black-chested Prinia (Latin name Prinia flavicans) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 685 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 844 also a picture of the Black-chested Prinia on page 865. The Black-chested Prinia belongs to the family of birds classified as Cisticolidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Black-chested Prinia is also known by these other names: Black-cheeked Prinia.

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

Near endemic species is one that is confined to a specific geographical region rather than a single country for example. Certain birds in The Kruger National Park are near endemic to Mozambique, and Zimbabwe for example. One such example is the Black-chested Prinia and this species depends upon a certain type of habitat for survival. Destroy that habitat and the bird becomes endangered.

In terms of distribution of the Black-chested Prinia in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Black-chested Prinia : see above distribution map.

Non br. Black Chested Prinia Kruger ParkIdentification 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 Black-chested Prinia 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 Black-chested Prinia is about 13 cms and its weight is about 15 gms

The male and female Black-chested Prinia have the same plumage and colours

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

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Black-chested Prinia feeds on the ground and in foliage mainly

Invertebrates

Fruits

Seeds

Nectar

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Black-chested Prinia is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Prinia flavicans will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Black-chested Prinia 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 6

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Black-chested Prinia are: woodlands and arid areas

You will normally see the Black-chested Prinia in pairs.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Swartbandlangstertjie

German ... Brustbandprinie

Portuguese ... Prnia-de-colar-preto

French ... Prinia plastron

Dutch ... Zwartborstprinia

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

Robert's 7th edition number ... 685

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