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Bamenda Apalis Apalis bamendae Scientific name definitions

Peter Ryan
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated July 3, 2014

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

12 cm. A dark grey apalis with chestnut throat and fairly short, dark tail. Has frons and face washed chestnut, dark grey crown and upperparts washed olive-brown; upperwing and tail dark brown; throat buffy chestnut, merging into grey on breast and paler grey on belly; flanks grey, washed buffy, thighs chestnut, vent and underwing-coverts creamy white; iris yellow-brown; bill black; legs flesh-pink. Sexes alike. Juvenile undescribed.

Systematics History

Has sometimes been considered conspecific with A. sharpii and A. goslingi. Apparently closely related to A. rufogularis; the two have largely non-overlapping ranges, replacing each other within 1–2 km. Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

SW & C Cameroon (Bamenda Highlands S of 6° N, Adamawa Plateau) and SE Nigeria (Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve (1) ); probably also extreme W Central African Republic (Yade Hills).

Habitat

Confined to gallery forest in savanna woodland on Adamawa Plateau; occupies wider range of habitats in Bamenda Highlands, including gallery forest characterized by Raphia vinifera, thickets, and even orchards, gardens and fields with large trees such as eucalypts, avocados and mangos. From 700 m to 2050 m.

Movement

Little known; presumably mostly resident.

Diet and Foraging

Diet mainly insects. Forages in canopy and along edges of gallery forest.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Male song a series of notes starting with deeper, descending note, “chew chit chit chit chit…”, rate varies from fast to slow; also a 3-note “tsweu-twit-twit” repeated in series. Female sometimes calls with male, giving fast series of higher-pitched notes, “tit-it-it-it-it-it…”.

Breeding

No information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern

Not globally threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Cameroon Mountains EBA. Total range covers no more than c. 80,000 km². Locally common throughout its range, including in degraded habitats in Bamenda Highlands. Distance between pairs 300–1000 m in gallery forest on Adamawa Plateau, but habitat loss a significant problem here, because gallery forests are clear-cut. Occurs in at least two protected areas, the Bali-Ngemba Forest Reserve (in Bamenda) and the large Mbam-Djerem National Park (at Adamawa). Recorded in 2013 at Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve in E Nigeria (2).

Distribution of the Bamenda Apalis - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Bamenda Apalis

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Ryan, P. (2020). Bamenda Apalis (Apalis bamendae), 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.bamapa1.01
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