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Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin

Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin

Cercotrichas galactotes

Identify the Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

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The Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin is a medium-sized chat of dry, bushy country, recognised by its warm brown upperparts, bold pale eyebrow and long rufous tail, which it often fans and cocks to show black-and-white tips. It breeds from the Mediterranean across the Middle East to Pakistan and in parts of Africa south of the Sahara, and many birds winter in Africa and India. Its clear, thrush-like song has a plaintive tone.

Did you know?

  • It sometimes nests near a Woodchat Shrike, the two species watching for different predators.
  • Its nest cup is sometimes lined with a strip of snakeskin.

Voice

Song

About the species

Identification

A Nightingale-sized chat (15–17 cm) but paler. The face shows a clear white supercilium and dark eye-stripe. The long tail is rusty red, and when spread shows a black-and-white pattern at the tip. The sexes are alike.

Family

Turdidae

Size

Small (sparrow)

Colours

brown, orange, white, grey

About the habitat

Dry, scrubby open country with dense bushes, in lowlands and foothills; also vineyards, orchards, parks and large gardens.

Diet

Mainly insects taken on the ground, such as beetles, grasshoppers and caterpillars, plus earthworms; it often turns over leaf litter to find prey.

Behaviour

Active and alert; flits between cover and low perches and hops on the ground while cocking, fanning and lowering its tail. The male performs a swooping display flight with raised wings and often sings from high perches. It nests in a well-hidden site in a bush, hedge or palm.

Sources

Photo: El Golli Mohamed, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Agrobate roux au Parc National de l'Ichkeul (Tunisia), crop.jpg

Sound: tsilianidis saky, XC480616, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/480616

Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufous-tailed_scrub_robin

See also