Tawny-flanked Prinia ( Prinia subflava, family: Cisticolidae)
The Tawny-flanked Prinia (Latin name Prinia subflava) is described in
Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique
Roberts number of 683 and you will find a full description of this bird
on page 842 also a picture of the Tawny-flanked Prinia on page 865. The
Tawny-flanked Prinia belongs to the family of birds classified as
Cisticolidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African
Ornithology the Tawny-flanked Prinia is also known by these other names:
West African Prinia, Tawny Prinia, Indian 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
The Tawny-flanked Prinia is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident
In terms of distribution of the Tawny-flanked Prinia in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Tawny-flanked Prinia : see above distribution map.
The Tawny-flanked Prinia.
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 Tawny-flanked 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 Tawny-flanked Prinia is about 15 cms and its weight is about 9 gms
The male and female Tawny-flanked Prinia have the same plumage and colours
- Head is grey, brown.
- Eye is brown.
- Bill is black.
- Throat is white.
- Back is grey, brown.
- Legs are pink.
This bird has normally proportioned leg length.
Main diet items for this bird ...
The Tawny-flanked Prinia feeds on the ground and in foliage mainly
Invertebrates
Fruits
Nectar
Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...
The Tawny-flanked Prinia is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Prinia subflava will seek out a new mate
The nesting habit of Tawny-flanked Prinia is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are cream in colour and number between 2 to 5
Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...
The preferred habitats for Tawny-flanked Prinia are: woodlands and grasslands and riverine areas
You can see Tawny-flanked Prinia in flocks. The bird will often also be seen singly.
Names of this avian species in other languages ...
Xhosa ... Ungcuze
Zulu ... Unknown
Afrikaans ...Bruinsylangstertjie
German ... Rahmbrustprinie
Portuguese ... Prnia-de-flancos-castanhos
French ... Prinia modeste
Dutch ... Roestflankprinia
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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...
Robert's 7th edition number ... 683
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
