Animalia Life

Tmetothylacus tenellus
TAXONOMY
Macronyx tenellus Cabanis, 1878, Taita, southeast Kenya.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Pipit dorй; German: Goldpieper; Spanish: Bisbita Dorada.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
5.1–6.3 in (13–16 cm); 0.6–0.8 oz (18–22 g). Mottled brown from forehead to rump; golden-yellow underparts, cheek, and brow with black bib across throat.
DISTRIBUTION
Western Somalia and Ethiopia, west to southeast Sudan and south to southern Tanzania; vagrant to the north in Oman and south to northern South Africa.
HABITAT
Arid or semi-arid grassland with bushes and small trees, usually up to about 3,300 ft (1,000 m) above sea level.
BEHAVIOR
Territorial when breeding, otherwise often in family groups or parties. Rather shy; frequently perches on trees or bushes, wagging tail. Displays by fluttering up and then gliding to ground, showing yellow in spread wings and tail. Migratory; marked influxes during rains.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Insectivorous, taking prey from ground or grass stems.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Monogamous. Breeds November through May, during rains. Nest is a cup of grass and stems, lined rootlets, hidden low in a bush; lays two to four eggs.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened; sometimes locally abundant after rains.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.

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