Gorgeous Bush-Shrike sighting at Madi a Thavha Mountain Lodge, Louis Trichardt, Limpopo Province South Africa while on the Aves North West Tour/Safari/Adventure.

Gorgeous Bush-Shrike

Gorgeous Bush-Shrike- Telophorus viridis – is found in two separate populations - one along the coast of Tanzania and Kenya and the other in Mozambique, Zimbabwe's eastern Highlands, Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.. Its natural habitats are boreal forests, subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland.

Description

Adult male has olive green upper parts, yellow supercilium, black lores, black bill, brown eyes and bluish grey legs and feet. The chin and throat are a rich scarlet with a broad black gorget. Adult females are similar to the male but have a narrow thin gorget. It is one of the most strikingly beautiful woodland birds on the African continent.

Call

A loud kong-kong-konweet. The contact call is a low, croaking gog or graagg.

Food

It mainly eats insects, doing most of its foraging in the canopy of trees, gleaning insects from leaves and branches.

Breeding

The breeding season is from October to December. Both sexes construct the nest, which is an untidy, shallow cup. Clutch size is 1to 3 blue eggs, which are incubated by both sexes for about 13 to 14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and leave the nest after 12 days.

Conservation Status – Least Concern

Not threatened in Southern Africa.

Birdwatching

Ask Aves Birding Tours/Safaris/Adventures to create an Aves custom tour for you or book on one of the following scheduled Aves Birding Tours/Safaris/Adventures: -

Aves Highlands / Tembe Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.

Aves KZN Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.

Aves North East Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.

Aves North West Birding Tour / Safari /Adventure.