Brown Emutail Bradypterus brunneus Scientific name definitions

15 cm. A tiny tawny-brown warbler with short wings, and very long, strongly graduated tail of six feathers reduced to dark brown shafts only. Top and side of head are dark tawny-brown, with narrow pale cinnamon-brown supercilium; upperparts, upper­wing-coverts and tertials dark russet-brown; centre of chin and throat buffy white, underparts orange-brown; iris dark brown; bill blackish-brown; legs pinkish. Sexes alike. Juvenile is entirely dark tawny-brown, with fully barbed tail.

E Madagascar.

Dense herbaceous growth in humid evergreen forest, at medium to montane altitude, 500–2500 m.

Sedentary.

Small insects. Moves about rapidly within depths of low tangled vegetation. Flies seldom, and for only short distances.

Song, usually from within cover, rarely from visible perch, by partners in duet, 2 or 3 short “whit” or “wee” notes followed by short whirring “querrrrr”. Call a short rolling rattle.

Nest close to ground in dense vegetation. Clutch 2 eggs. No other information.

Not globally threatened. Restricted-range species: present in East Malagasy Wet Forests EBA. Locally fairly common in rainforest of C parts of E Madagascar; abundant in Sakanaka Forest and Fierenana Forest, and occurs in partially exploited forest at Nangarana. Continued forest destruction may cause future decline.