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Cryptosylvicola
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Cryptic Warbler Cryptosylvicola randrianasoloi Scientific name definitions

Frank Hawkins and David Pearson
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; 7·8–9·1 g. A small canopy warbler with short wings, longish tail with graduated tip, legs rather long and slender. Has top of head olive-green, narrow dull greenish-yellow supercilium from base of bill to above middle of ear-coverts, dark olive-green eyestripe; cheek and ear-coverts mottled greenish-yellow; upperparts olive-green, tinged yellower on uppertail-coverts; upperwing-coverts and tertials olive-green; flight-feathers dark greyish, edged yellowish olive-green; tail yellowish olive-green above, dull olive-green below; chin to breast, flanks and belly greyish-white with yellow wash, yellow most pronounced on throat and upper breast; thighs and undertail-coverts olive-green; iris brown; bill black above with dull orange cutting edge, dull orange below with blackish spot towards tip; legs blackish or dark pinkish-brown. Sexes alike. Juvenile is duller and greyer green than adult on head and upperparts, lacks supercilium, has underparts dull pale grey, breast slightly mottled; bill all dark.

Systematics History

Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Humid evergreen forest belt of E Madagascar, from Manongarivo and Tsaratanana Massifs in N to Andohahela in SE; not confirmed on Masoala Peninsula (1).

Habitat

Middle-altitude and montane evergreen humid forests, often along steep ridges or in areas of bamboo. Inhabits primary forest, also disturbed and degraded forest, from 900 m to 2500m, venturing locally into clumps of ericaceous vegetation above tree-line. In montane forest favours areas dominated by Podocarpus; in ridgetop sclerophyllous forest prefers areas where epiphytic moss and lichens plentiful.

Movement

Apparently sedentary.

Diet and Foraging

Insects; recorded prey include a cricket (Tettigoniidae) 1·5 cm long. Small spiders (Araneae) and caterpillars and a small moth (Lepidoptera) among items carried to nest. Forages actively in canopy and subcanopy of trees and shrubs, mainly at 3–15 m. Hops along tree limbs; gleans prey from outer foliage and occasionally from bark of twigs and branches, sometimes hanging briefly with fluttering wings. Often joins mixed-species flocks, and may occur in small family groups after breeding.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song, usually delivered repeatedly from emergent dead twigs in treetop or from lower open branches, loud and far-carrying, a series of 5–12 raspy notes on same pitch, “chick tss-tss-tss-tss-tss-tss”, slightly fading away. Call a distinctive scolding “tsick”, “chick” or “chick-ess”.

Breeding

Season Oct–Dec. One nest examined contained 3 eggs. No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Restricted-range species: present in East Malagasy Wet Forests EBA. First discovered in 1992 in Maromiza Forest, near the Analamazaotra Special Reserve, in C part of E rainforest of Madagascar. Has since been found to be restricted to E part of the island, where quite widespread and locally common from Tsaratanana S to Andohahela; recorded as present in six national parks. Although E humid forests are at risk from slash-and-burn agriculture, this species occurs in the altitudinal band that is currently least affected by habitat change; it appears to be fairly common in the well-protected Tsaratanana Strict Nature Reserve, Marojejy National Park, Anjanaharibe-sud Special Reserve, and Ranomafana, Andringitra and Andohahela National Parks. It is not therefore considered to be at risk.
Distribution of the Cryptic Warbler - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Cryptic Warbler

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Hawkins, F. and D. Pearson (2020). Cryptic Warbler (Cryptosylvicola randrianasoloi), 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.crywar1.01
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