Rufous-sided Broadbill Smithornis rufolateralis Scientific name definitions

11·5–13·5 cm; male 17·8–23·2 g, female 10–23·1 g (rufolateralis), sexes combined 19–29 g (budongoensis). Male has entire head black ; upperparts rufescent brown, marked with extensive black on mantle and back, with white feather bases visible mostly in flight; wing-coverts blackish, medians and greaters with white tips forming two broken wingbars; flight-feathers and tail blackish-brown; underparts silky white, conspicuous bright orange patch on side of breast, black streaking on throat side, breast and flanks, creamy lower underparts unstreaked; iris dark brown; bill with dark upper mandible, white to yellowish-white lower mandible; legs and feet olive-green. Differs from S. sharpei in smaller size, white wingbars, less intense orange restricted to side of breast, all-black head. Female  has head rufous-tinged dark brown indistinctly streaked darker, upperparts rufous-brown with little or no black, browner wings, underparts washed with greyish or buffish, primarily on flanks, duller orange breast sides. Juvenile has upperparts bright rufous, crown often similar but sometimes darker than mantle and back, tips of median coverts buff but outermost spot usually white or creamy, underparts like female but darker orange on breast side. Race <em>budongoensis</em> differs from nominate only in having fewer and shorter dark stripes below  , crown of female greyer.

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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.

Primary and secondary forest in lowlands, locally to 1500 m; often near water. Preference for dense growth , particularly in tangles of lianes, and also in logged forest. Unlike S. capensis, it occurs in old regrowth on land previously under cultivation.

Resident.

Insects and other arthropods. Examination of stomach contents of 20 specimens revealed orthopterans (grasshoppers, crickets), coleopterans including click beetles (Elateridae), ants, an earwig (Dermaptera); also a spider and a millipede (Diplopoda). Observations indicate that small cicadas (Cicadidae) and small hairless caterpillars are favoured items; a male once observed feeding a small, green cicada to nestlings. Often catches flying insects. In Liberia, usual foraging height 3–15 m, but regularly caught in mist-nets below 2 m. Reported rarely in mixed-species foraging flocks.

Weak, plaintive, high-pitched short whistle, variously as “whee whee theew theew” or “huiiii”; these and other rhythmic calls run together to form simple song in courtship. Frog-like mechanical trill during display-flight  a very loud staccato “tttt-rrrrrrrrrrrrr” c. 0·7 seconds long, starts abruptly, slows and accelerates, then ends abruptly, similar to that of S. capensis but higher-pitched.

In Liberia, breeds in Feb–Aug in N and Aug–Feb in SE; Sept–Apr in Cameroon and Gabon, or possibly starting earlier, with peak of egg-laying in Jan; Dec–Oct in Zaire and Jun in Uganda . Nest an untidy bag c. 15–17 cm long with hanging “tail” and with entrance hole 3·5–5 cm wide c. 3 cm from top, built variously of coarse dead leaves, bamboo leaves, plant and palm-frond fibres, mossy roots and dry twigs, thickly interwoven with long, fine black fungal strands (Marasmius), sometimes with moss around entrance, and lined with soft leaf material or fine fibres; suspended 1–2 m above the ground from horizontal branch or creeper by means of fibres. Clutch 1–2 eggs, usually 2; female incubates, and both sexes feed chicks; when female is absent, male clings to entrance hole to guard nestlings; incubation and fledging periods not documented.

Not globally threatened. Locally common, possibly with larger range than hitherto reported. Occurs in several ptotected areas, e.g. Gola Forest Reserves in Sierra Leone, Yapo Reserve in Ivory Coast, and a number of national parks. No records from Togo since 1902. In Liberia, estimated densities based on vocalizations were 4 pairs/km² in S Gio National Forest, 6–10 pairs/km² in the Niabo area, and 14–25 pairs/km² and locally up to 3 pairs/10 ha in area N of Zwedru. A study in Gabon suggested a population density of 12 pairs/km². Can be common in one area and rather rare nearby: e.g. in Cameroon, fairly common in Korup National Park but rare on nearby Mt Kupé; apparently a similar situation in E Zaire, where can be locally common or scarce.