Animalia Life
Smithornis capensis
SUBFAMILY
Eurylaiminae (Smithornithinae)
TAXONOMY
Platyrhynchus capensis A. Smith, 1840, Natal (coastal forests of
northern Zululand). Nine subspecies are recognized.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Eurylaime du cap; German: Kapbreitrachen; Spanish:
Pico Ancho Africano.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
4.7–5.5 in (12–14 cm); 0.7–1.1 oz (20–31 g). Brownish head
and upperparts. Underparts buffy streaked with blackish.
DISTRIBUTION
S. c. capensis: South Africa in coastal Natal and southern Zululand.
S. c. camerunensis: Cameroon, Gabon, Central Africa. S. c.
delacouri: Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Ghana. S. c.
albigularis: Central Africa, in northern Malawi, northern Zambia,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and isolated in
Angola. S. c. meinertzhageni: highlands of northeastern Democatic
Republic of Congo and adjacent Rwanda and Uganda,
western Kenya. S. c. medianus: highlands of central Kenya and
northeastern Tanzania. S. c. suahelicus: from southeastern
Kenya south to Mozambique, as far inland in Tanzania as the
Uluguru and Nguru Mountains. S. c. conjunctus: from southern
Angola through northeastern Namibia to northwestern
Mozambique. S. c. cryptoleucus: from southwestern Tanzania
and southern Malawi south to South Africa (Zululand). Although
more common below 2,300 ft (c. 700 m) elevation, it
can be found as high as 8,000 ft (2,440 m) in the Usumbara
Mountains, Tanzania.
HABITAT
Variable; generally inhabits the understory of primary and secondary
forests, riparian forests, a variety of woodlands, dense
thickets and brush, disturbed areas, montane forests, and open
agricultural lands.
BEHAVIOR
Territorial. Both sexes commonly perform elliptical display
flights. During courtship both birds face each other on a horizontal
branch and flick their wings, changing between a perching
and a hanging position.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Insectivorous. Forage by sallying and occasionally tumbling to
the ground.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Breeding season very variable depending on locality. Lays two
to three eggs.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened. Locally common, but scarce in some areas. This
species has suffered from habitat destruction in some places.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
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