Explore Taxonomy
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Cisticolidae
Genus
Oreolais
Surprise Me
Previous Black-collared Apalis
Next African Tailorbird
- Rwenzori Apalis
© Johnnie Kamugisha
- Rwenzori Apalis
- Rwenzori Apalis
+1
- Rwenzori Apalis
- Rwenzori Apalis
Watch
- Rwenzori Apalis
Listen

Rwenzori Apalis Oreolais ruwenzorii Scientific name definitions

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

Sign in to see your badges

Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

11–12 cm; male 9–13 g, female 7–12 g. A dark grey and buff apalis with grey breastband. Has slate-grey face, crown and upperparts, dark grey tail; throat and underparts reddish-buff, sooty-grey breastband, whitish central belly; flanks and thighs richer chestnut; iris pale reddish-brown; bill black; legs pink-brown. Differs from O. pulcher in smaller size, duller plumage, no white in tail. Sexes alike. Juvenile is duller than adult, with yellow gape, mouth and legs.

Systematics History

See O. pulcher. Birds from Rugege Forest, in Rwanda, described as race catiodes, but appear indistinguishable from other populations. Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Highlands of E DRCongo, SW Uganda, W Rwanda and W Burundi.

Habitat

Montane forest, also secondary growth and bamboo; at 1550–3100 m.

Movement

Presumably mostly resident.

Diet and Foraging

Diet mainly insects and other invertebrates, including caterpillars (Lepidoptera), ants (Hymenoptera) and spiders (Araneae). Occurs in pairs or small family groups. Forages mainly in understorey, sometimes venturing into middle strata. Gleans from leaves and small branches. Occasionally associated with ants swarms, foraging on branches over the swarm. Frequently opens wings and flirts tail when excited.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song a bleating note usually repeated 4–6 times, “bzzz bzzz bzzz bzzz” or “breer breer breer breer”, typically more buzzy and less nasal than that of O. pulcher. Female often accompanies male, her calls often slightly higher-pitched and faster.

Breeding

Nests mainly during rainy season, Mar–May in DRCongo, Aug–Dec in Rwanda and Dec–Apr in Uganda. Probably monogamous; solitary, territorial. Nest an unusually large, untidy ball (c. 12 cm wide, 23 cm deep), with side entrance at top, made from moss, slung 8 cm below small branch 0·5–1·2 m above ground in dense herbaceous ground cover; one nest was lined with whitish lichens, another with Panicum grass stems. Clutch 2 eggs; no information on incubation and fledging periods.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Albertine Rift Mountains EBA. Locally common. Average density 2·7 birds/ha in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, in Uganda, and 1–2 pairs/ha in Nyungwe Forest, in Rwanda.
Distribution of the Rwenzori Apalis - Range Map
Enlarge
  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Rwenzori Apalis

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Ryan, P. (2020). Rwenzori Apalis (Oreolais ruwenzorii), 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.ruwapa1.01
Birds of the World

Partnerships

A global alliance of nature organizations working to document the natural history of all bird species at an unprecedented scale.

American Ornithological Society American Ornithilogical Society Armonia Bolivia Aves Argentinas Avibase Aves Uruguay Birds Caribbean Bird Count India Conservación de Islas Corbidi Fundación Ñankulafkén Instituto Humboldt Lynx Edicions Oikonos Oriental Bird Club Ornithological Society Of The Middle East The Caucasus And Central Asia RED DE OBSERVADORES DE AVES Y VIDA SILVESTRE DE CHILE Roberts Birds Save Brasil Taiwan Biodiversity Research Institute Union Venezolana De Ornitologos