Cameroon Speirops Zosterops melanocephalus Scientific name definitions

13 cm; 9–12·5 g. Has very dark brown, slightly glossy crown to nape, hindneck and side of head, greyish-white forehead and lores contrasting strongly with dark cap, very narrow white eyering; upperparts grey-brown, slightly greyer on rump; flight-feathers dark brown, all except outer primaries fringed whitish to olivaceous grey-brown; tail feathers dark brown above, blackish below; greyish-white chin and upper throat (contrasting with dark cheek), buffy grey below, more buff on flanks, with whitish thighs and pale grey vent; underwing silky white; iris pale brown to yellow, brownish-white or grey; bill yellowish or white, sometimes tipped pinkish; legs white to pinkish-white or pale greyish-flesh. Sexes alike. Juvenile undescribed.

Mt Cameroon, in SW Cameroon.

More open parts of forest, forest clearings, thickets and bushy patches, avoiding denser closed-canopy areas, and generally confined to clearings in lower parts of range; at highest altitudes occurs in forest edge and patches of vegetation in windswept grassland. At 1800–2750 m, sometimes to 3000 m.

Resident; some vertical movement, e.g. seen at 1850–2800 m in Dec but less commonly at 1950–2150 m in Jan.

Insects; also berries and other vegetable matter. Feeds singly, in pairs and in parties of 5–15 individuals; also in mixed flocks with White-bellied Crested-flycatcher (Elminia albiventris), Northern Double-collared Sunbird(Cinnyris reichenowi) and Zosterops senegalensis. Forages in canopy and middle levels. Actively inspects mossy holes, branches, leaves and twigs; tears apart fresh flowers and buds.

Song, very loud for size of bird, 2–2·5 seconds in duration, a sequence of staccato, tuneless, rising and falling notes, similar in quality to song of Z. leucophaeus; another song type much richer, described as 7–8 sweet notes, first rising and then falling in pitch. A rattling “trrr” call and soft “cheep, cheep” calls also reported.

Birds with enlarged gonads in Nov–Dec and Mar. No other information.

VULNERABLE. Restricted-range species: present in Cameroon Mountains EBA. Common; generally, not difficult for human observer to see c. 15 individuals in a day. This species is confined to a relatively narrow altitudinal belt in a small mountain range. Main threats are habitat destruction by natural fires and lava flows (active volcano); also fires set regularly by hunters, despite official management of the site by the Mount Cameroon Ecotourism Project.