Chirping with Kloof Conservancy – Bar-throated Apalis

The Bar-throated Apalis will not win a beauty contest against some of the more colourful species in the Highway area, but it is nevertheless an endearing little bird that flits incessantly in bush thickets, making it quite a challenge to take any good photographs.

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Description

It is a small bird of 12 cm and average weight of 10.5g. When it comes to coloration, this bird is a bit of an enigma for South African birders as there are thirteen sub-species and the differentiation is in the variety of shades of grey and yellow they come in. The ‘venusta’ sub-species mainly occurs in the Highway area, which has a grey crown, pale yellow underparts, and olive-green upper parts. All sub-species however have distinctive white eyes and blackish breast band. Males and females are almost identical with the females having a slightly narrower breast-band.

Distribution

The Bar-throated Apalis is found from the Western Cape all along the east coast and most parts of the northern parts of South Africa, including Gauteng. It is absent from all the drier parts of the country

Habitat

This species loves riverine forests and all evergreen forests and areas with low bushes on sand dunes.

Feeding

The Bar-throated Apalis feeds almost exclusively on invertebrates such as caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers, flies, and spiders. They are known to also feed on some flowers occasionally.

Breeding

They are monogamous and pair for life. The task of building the nest is left to the female, who will lay two to four eggs, which take approximately 16 days to hatch. Incubation and feeding of the young is done by both parents. The nests are often parasitised by the Klaas’ Cuckoo so the Apalis birds end up rearing the cuckoo’s chicks.

Predators and threats

Listed as Last Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the species does not appear to be in any imminent risk. It is prey to smaller raptors.

Local information

Not an easy bird to find despite our many riverine areas, which are the favourite habitat for this species. It is best to learn to identify their call which will help to spot them. The most common call is best described as ‘tlip-tlip-tlip-tlip’ repeated for longish periods. Their alarm call is also a useful identifier and is described as a sharp “tik-tik-tik-tik”, which is repeated very fast. They visit well shrubbed gardens so do look out for them around the home

Interesting facts

The Bar-throated Apalis is one of 5 species of Apalis found in Southern Africa. They are part of the much larger Cisticola family. While they are a small bird they are not easily intimidated and will ‘puff’ up to make themselves look much larger and chase predators away. Research has shown that the size of the breast-band on the males plays a role in determining mating success. Those males with larger breast-bands are able to provide more food which enables the female to incubate for longer periods.