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Black-throated Apalis Apalis jacksoni Scientific name definitions

Peter Ryan
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2006

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

12 cm; 6–10 g. A fairly large forest apalis with striking face pattern, bright yellow underparts and long and strongly graduated tail. Male nominate race has grey crown, nape and neck side, black lores, cheek and ear-coverts, contrasting sharply with white malar stripe; central throat and upper breast black; upperparts rich olive-green; flight-feathers and greater upperwing-coverts dark grey, white outer margins on secondaries (forming pale panel on folded wing); tail dark grey with broad white tips, outer webs of outer two feather pairs mainly white; underparts below upper breast bright yellow, flanks washed olive-green, thighs greyish, vent white; iris brown; bill black; legs pinkish. Distinguished from A. binotata mainly by distinctive yellow underparts and extensive white in outer tail; from A. chariessa in black throat, much less distinct pale wingpanel, no orange wash on breast. Female is duller than male, with dark grey face and throat patch. Juvenile has olive wash on crown, yellow wash on white malar streaks. Race minor is smaller than nominate, with narrower black throat patch; albimentalis has brighter, more yellow-green upperparts, brighter yellow underparts, the dark of throat extending farther onto breast; bambuluensis is darker green above, male has black crown, female has blackish throat patch.

Systematics History

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.

Shows some affinities to A. chariessa. Race albimentalis often merged with nominate, but is geographically remote and has some subtle plumage differences. Four subspecies currently recognized.

Subspecies

SUBSPECIES

Apalis jacksoni bambuluensis Scientific name definitions

Apalis jacksoni bambuluensis
A. j. bambuluensis

Distribution

SE Nigeria and SW Cameroon highlands.
SUBSPECIES

Apalis jacksoni minor Scientific name definitions

Distribution

S Cameroon, N Gabon, NW Congo, SW Central African Republic and N DRCongo.
SUBSPECIES

Apalis jacksoni jacksoni Scientific name definitions

Apalis jacksoni jacksoni
A. j. jacksoni +1

Distribution

S South Sudan, E DRCongo, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and N Tanzania.

Distribution

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.

Habitat

Montane forest, edges of forest clearings, secondary forest and coffee forest, mainly at 1000–2500 m, but also in lowland forest in SE Cameroon and Gabon. In Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (Uganda) largely confined to valley-floor forest, with A. porphyrolaema on hill slopes, but is unusual in occurring in both lowland and montane forest.

Movement

Presumably mostly resident.

Diet and Foraging

Diet insects and other invertebrates, including beetles (Coleoptera), moths and caterpillars (Lepidoptera), bugs (Hemiptera), flies (Diptera), larvae, and spiders (Araneae). Usually in pairs or small family parties; sometimes joins mixed-species flocks. Forages mainly in middle strata and canopy; prefers canopies of trees with relatively thin, well-spread crown, such as Albizia, Dombeya, Newtonia, Neobutonia and Macaranga, also tangles of vines and lianas. Forages by searching small twigs, gleaning from leaves (mainly from undersides); hover-hawks from leaves, and makes short flights to hawk prey in the air.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song a monotonous series of rather musical “whoi” or “tru” notes, at 2–4 notes per second. Partners usually duet, female having purer, more whistled note than male, duets may be synchronized or not, when synchronized could be mistaken for a single bird. Call notes of males from PRCongo and Rwanda have distinctly rolled r-sound, “tru tru tru…”, whereas notes of race bambuluensis (in SW Cameroon) are not rolled, “puh puh puh…”.

Breeding

Feb–Jun in DRCongo, Angola and E Africa, and Jul–Oct in SW Cameroon, at end of rains. Probably monogamous; solitary, territorial (probably throughout year). Only one nest found, a thin-walled, deep pouch made of Usnea lichens, bound with spider web, attached to upright twigs in bush; contained 2 eggs; no information on incubation and fledging periods.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Uncommon to locally common. Occurs at densities of up to 0·2 pairs/ha in dryland forest on Odzala Plateau, in PRCongo, and 0·2 birds/ha in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, in Uganda. Tolerates some degree of forest disturbance; in Uganda, densities in selectively logged forest similar to those in unlogged forest.
Distribution of the Black-throated Apalis - Range Map
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Distribution of the Black-throated Apalis

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Ryan, P. (2020). Black-throated Apalis (Apalis jacksoni), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bltapa1.01
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