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Moustached Tinkerbird Pogoniulus leucomystax Scientific name definitions

Lester L. Short and Jennifer F. M. Horne
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated December 15, 2016

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

c. 9·5 cm; 8–14·5 g. Active small, green barbet . Both sexes dark olive-green above, with bright yellow rump; distinctive white malar stripe and dark lores; wings blackish with broad yellow wingbars , yellow feather edges; underparts light greyish-yellow, darker on breast. Distinguished from <em>P. simplex</em> by white malar mark, darker green crown and back. Immature has half or more of basal bill yellow.

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.

Closely related to P. simplex and P. coryphaea, all three having in the past been separated in genus Viridibucco. Populations of present species exhibit slight clinal increase in size towards S, but few constant geographical colour differences to warrant subspecific differentiation; meridionalis often regarded as no more than S part of cline. Birds from Chyulu Hills (Kenya) formerly separated as race chyulu. Two subspecies tentatively recognized.

Subspecies

SUBSPECIES

Pogoniulus leucomystax leucomystax Scientific name definitions

Distribution

extreme eastern Uganda (Mount Elgon) and central Kenya south in the highlands to northeastern Tanzania
SUBSPECIES

Pogoniulus leucomystax meridionalis Scientific name definitions

Distribution

southern Tanzania to Malawi west of the Rift Valley

Distribution

Extreme E Uganda (Mt Elgon) and C Kenya, S in highlands to Malawi mountains W of Rift Valley.

Habitat

Generally in forest with dense undergrowth in mountains, but ranges from small remnant patches of forest to gardens and dense thickets; seems often to require presence of mistletoe (Loranthaceae) for breeding. Usually at 900–2500 m, rarely up to 3000 m, and in Usambara and Uluguru Mts, in Tanzania, down to 450 m. Known to overlap with P. simplex only at 450–900 m in W Usambaras, and replaces that species at higher elevations.

Movement

Resident; largely sedentary, with local dispersal and perhaps shifts to breeding areas (forest patches) from non-breeding locations.

Diet and Foraging

Eats fruits and berries, especially mistletoe berries (Loranthaceae, including Engleriha inequilatera); also flycatches for insects, but no details of species taken. Regurgitates fruit stones, often sticks those of mistletoe around nest entrance. Moves rapidly, feeding mainly at 2–8 m. Subordinate to P. bilineatus at food sources.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song  , by male or female, a short to long piping trill at 6–20 notes per second, slow to faster, or tempo varying; also short, fast trills, often with varying number of notes in each set within series; other calls are sharp “pit” or “pit-it”, grating “grrrr” notes, chattery “chaaaa” series, and rattling “griiiiik”; slow “ti-ti-ti-” to fast “peep-eep-” calls from nestlings.

Breeding

May–Jun and Aug–Jan in N, thus in either of 2 rainy seasons; mainly Oct–Nov in S; in Malawi, 2 broods in a year, with 2-month interval between. Nests in pairs, but only 1 sleeps in nest at night. Nest, excavated by both adults, 3–7 m up in tree or stub, often in jacaranda in suburban areas, with entrance c. 2 cm; territories in suburban Nairobi 4–20 ha, but as small as 0·2 ha in Nyika Plateau, in Malawi; male sings just before roosting and after leaving nest in morning, as well as sporadically in bursts. Eggs 2–3; incubation period not known; both adults feed chicks, nestling period 32–34 days.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. The most widespread member of its superspecies, and the only one showing some adaptability. Locally common; fairly common to scarce in Kenya; less common than sympatric P. bilineatus; known to occur in Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks. On Nyika Plateau, in Malawi, 2 breeding pairs in forest patch as small as 1·2 ha, but densities lower in intact forest.
Distribution of the Moustached Tinkerbird - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Moustached Tinkerbird

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Short, L. L. and J. F. M. Horne (2020). Moustached Tinkerbird (Pogoniulus leucomystax), 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.moutin1.01
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