Gorgeous Bush-Shrike ( Telophorus viridis, family: Malaconotidae)

gorgeous bush shrike kruger national park birds The Gorgeous Bush-Shrike (Latin name Telophorus viridis) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 747 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 705 also a picture of the Gorgeous Bush-Shrike on page 721. The Gorgeous Bush-Shrike belongs to the family of birds classified as Malaconotidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Gorgeous Bush-Shrike is also known by these other names: Four-coloured Bush-Shrike, Four-coloured Shrike.

The Robert's 7 Latin name for Gorgeous Bush-Shrike has changed from Telophorus quadricolor in Robert's 6 to Telophorus viridis

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 Gorgeous Bush-Shrike is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.

In terms of distribution of the Gorgeous Bush-Shrike in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Gorgeous Bush-Shrike : see above distribution map.

The Gorgeous Bush-Shrike.

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 Gorgeous Bush-Shrike is an extremely small bird about half the size of a house sparrow. The height of the Gorgeous Bush-Shrike is about 19 cms and its weight is about 37 gms

You will find that the male Gorgeous Bush-Shrike plumage and colours are different to that of the female Gorgeous Bush-Shrike

  • Head is olive.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is grey.
  • Throat is black.
  • Back is olive, green.
  • Legs are blue, grey.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Gorgeous Bush-Shrike feeds on the ground mainly

Invertebrates

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Gorgeous Bush-Shrike is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Telophorus viridis will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Gorgeous Bush-Shrike is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are green, white in colour and number between 2

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Gorgeous Bush-Shrike are: woodlands and grasslands

You will not see Gorgeous Bush-Shrike in flocks. The bird prefers to act singly or in pairs.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... iNgongoni

Afrikaans ...Konkoit

German ... Vierfarbenwrger

Portuguese ... Picano-quadricolor

French ... Gladiateur quadricolore

Dutch ... Bonte Bosklauwier

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

Robert's 7th edition number ... 747

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