Black Scimitarbill Rhinopomastus aterrimus Scientific name definitions

23 cm; 18–23 g (two birds). Nominate race mainly dark and iridescent; crown and face deep blue; nape, mantle, scapulars, rump and uppertail-coverts violet; broad white bar across primaries, primary-coverts white; no white in tail; chin, throat, breast and belly dull black, tinged violet; bill decurved, black, paler along cutting edges, gape yellow; eye dark brown; tarsi and toes dark greyish-black, or sometimes dark olive-green with ­yellowish soles. Female less violet above, brownish-black below; primary-coverts more frequently black than in male. Immature duller than adult, with brownish underparts, shorter and less decurved black bill, and shorter tail (1 Borrow, N., and R. Demey (2001). Birds of Western Africa. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). The only other savanna-inhabiting member of the family is Phoeniculus purpureus, which is much larger and usually shows some green gloss to plumage (1 Borrow, N., and R. Demey (2001). Birds of Western Africa. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); vocalizations differ to lesser or greater extent from those of other Rhinopomastus, has much straighter bill than either, and white in tail of present species distinguishes it from R. minor (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). Races differ in shades of blue and violet and in amount of white on wings and tail: emini slightly larger than nominate (wing of male 97–112 mm versus 96–104 mm) (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ), wings and tail sometimes bluer, white of primaries often restricted to inner webs, fewer primary-coverts white (sometimes invisible on closed wing), tail of some birds with white subterminal spot or bar on outer feathers only; <em>notatus</em> similar in size to previous (wing of male 101–105 mm) (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ), but bluer , no white on primary-coverts or white on innermost only, tail with variable broader white spot or bar on outermost feathers; anchietae like emini, but wing (of male 101–110 mm) (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ) and tail longer and bill smaller, nape and mantle brighter violet-blue, wings and tail brighter blue, white bar on primaries broader, no white on primary-coverts, tail with broad white subterminal band on outer two rectrices, sometimes also on third rectrix; apparently a very variable subspecies (3 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ).

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Wooded savanna and dry bush country to limit of trees; avoids forest. From sea-level to over 2000 m.

In Nigeria, withdraws S into guinea savanna in dry season; population fluctuations suggest similar migratory movements elsewhere in W Africa.

Mostly insects, including ants and their larvae, adult beetles, mantids, caterpillars, pupae; also spiders, small berries. Forages in bushes and trees, mostly in canopy on twigs and small branches, also on trunks, and occasionally on ground. In Ghana, foraged 76% of time on branches less than 5 cm thick, 73·5% of time on dead wood. Agile , hangs upside-down and drops or dives vertically; probes crevices, also searches flowers for insects. Solitary , or in pairs or small family groups of up to five individuals (5 Ash, J. S., and J. Atkins (2009). Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: An Atlas of Distribution. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Often in mixed-species foraging parties.

Song is a series of plaintive notes, either fairly loud or more subdued, “kwheep-kwheep-kwheep-...” or “pooee-pooee-pooee-...” (1 Borrow, N., and R. Demey (2001). Birds of Western Africa. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), delivered at rate of 1·6 notes/sec, with pitch decreasing over course of long bout of calling, given by male when approaching by nest and by female to nestlings (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ); quiet “wha” calls when foraging (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ); and a wheezing “see-see-see” by female soliciting food from male (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ).

Recorded in Apr, Jun–Jul and Sept–Jan across N portion of range (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ); in Gambia, nest with young in mid-Oct, fledged young in late May and Oct. Monogamous; solitary nester; only two adults at nest, no helpers. Nest in tree cavity, 1·5 m above ground (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). Clutch size and incubation period uncertain; male delivers food to female, which then feeds young; later, both sexes forage together; female takes food from male at nest entrance and delivers it to nestlings.

Not globally threatened. No population estimates available; species is very widespread and in some areas locally common; frequent to very locally common in S half of W Gambia; widespread but nowhere common in Senegal. Occurrence in Zambia disputed, where some authorities maintain R. cyanomelas is the only member of this genus present (3 Dowsett, R. J., D. R. Aspinwall, and F. Dowsett-Lemaire (2008). The Birds of Zambia. Tauraco Press & Aves, Liège, Belgium. Close ), and not certainly recorded from Central African Republic (6 Germain, M. (1992). Sur quelques données erronées concernant l’avifaune de la Lobaye, République Centrafricaine. Malimbus 14(1):1–6. Close ). Just one record from Congo-Brazzaville and in neighbouring Gabon, known solely from Téké Plateau (7 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (1998). Further additions to and deletions from the avifauna of Congo-Brazzaville. Malimbus 20(1):15–32. Close ). Speculated to be shifting its range southward in Ivory Coast due to climate change (8 Salewski, V., H. Rainey, and F. Bairlein (2001). Have birds shifted their range limits southwards in Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa? Bulletin of the African Bird Club 8(2):117–120. Close ). The only current known threat posed by human activities is destruction of trees that species uses for foraging, nesting and roosting. Present in numerous national parks, e.g. Niokola Koba (Senegal), Comoe (Ivory Coast), Mole (Ghana), W (Niger), Waza (Cameroon), Bamingui-Bangoran (Central African Republic) and Dinder (Sudan).