Brown-crowned Tchagra ( Tchagra australis, family: Malaconotidae)

Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Three-streaked Tchagra

brown crowned tchagra kruger national park birds The Brown-crowned Tchagra (Latin name Tchagra australis) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 743 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 693 also a picture of the Brown-crowned Tchagra on page 752. The Brown-crowned Tchagra belongs to the family of birds classified as Malaconotidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Brown-crowned Tchagra is also known by these other names: Brown-headed Tchagra, Brown-headed Bush-Shrike.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Brown-crowned Tchagra was called the Three-streaked Tchagra

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 Brown-crowned Tchagra is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the Brown-crowned Tchagra in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Brown-crowned Tchagra : see above distribution map.

The Brown-crowned Tchagra.

Blackcrowned Tchagra Kruger National 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 Brown-crowned Tchagra 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 Brown-crowned Tchagra is about 17 cms and its weight is about 35 gms

The male and female Brown-crowned Tchagra have the same plumage and colours

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

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Brown-crowned Tchagra feeds on the ground and on wing mainly

Invertebrates

Fruits

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Brown-crowned Tchagra is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Tchagra australis will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Brown-crowned Tchagra is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are grey in colour and number between 2 to 3

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Brown-crowned Tchagra are: woodlands

You will not see Brown-crowned Tchagra in flocks. The bird prefers to act singly or in pairs.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Rooivlerktjagra

German ... Damaratschagra

Portuguese ... Picano-assobiador-de-coroa-castanha

French ... Tchagra tte brune

Dutch ... Bruinkoptsjagra

First bird in list | Previous bird viewed | Next KNP bird | Last bird in list

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

Robert's 7th edition number ... 743

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