Abyssinian Catbird Sylvia galinieri Scientific name definitions

17–19 cm. Dull grey babbler-like passerine with blackish lores, whitish forehead and rufous-chestnut vent. Lores are blackish, forehead to mid-crown greyish-white, shading to dull olive-tinged mid-grey on upperparts and underparts; slaty-grey upperwing with blackish outer greater coverts and primary coverts, slaty-grey tail; mid-belly slightly purer grey, lower belly, thighs and vent rufous-chestnut; iris crimson to reddish-brown; bill black; legs dark brown. Sexes similar. Juvenile is paler grey than adult, with paler rufous vent.

Highlands of N (Simien), W & S Ethiopia.

Dense thickets and tangles of vegetation in juniper woodland, giant heather, St John’s-wort (Hypericum), highland bamboo, olive trees, Podocarpus and other tall trees, often in steep-sided valleys and ravines; also in well-wooded gardens in Addis Ababa. At 2440–3655 m.

Resident.

Juniper berries and other small fruit. Found in pairs or in parties of up to eight individuals. Generally keeps within dense tangles of vegetation; moves in purposeful bounds along branches.

Male song , given throughout day (especially in rain), a fine melodious warbling trill lasting 3–4 seconds, becoming louder and sharper, decelerating at end, and answered by female with low dry churr or purr. Calls apparently unreported.

Jan–Jul. Nest a frail thin cup made of fine plant stems, loosely placed c. 5 m above ground on top of 2–3 small branches and vines and Galium, in top of Hypericum lanceolatum and shaded by tangle of vines. Clutch 2 eggs, pale pinkish, uniformly covered with fine pinkish marks and a few dark chestnut spots; incubation period 16–18 days; nestling period 15–18 days. Recorded longevity 6 years.

Not globally threatened. Fairly common to common resident. Present in Bale Mountains, Simien Mountains and Entoto Natural Parks, and in at least five other Important Bird Areas in Ethiopia.