Three-streaked tchagra

Three-streaked tchagra
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Malaconotidae
Genus:	Tchagra
Species:	T. jamesi
Binomial name
	Tchagra jamesi; (Shelley, 1885)

The three-streaked tchagra (Tchagra jamesi) is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae, which is an uncommon resident[2] of semi-desert regions in the eastern Afrotropics. The binomial of this bird commemorates the explorer Frank Linsly James, who also had the Frank James Memorial Hospital built in his honour.

Range and habitat

It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.

Description

It is a small tchagra, measuring 16–17 cm from bill tip to tail tip.[2] They are distinct from other tchagras in having a narrow, black median stripe over the crown,[3] without any superciliary stripe.[2] In addition the tertials and rectrices are mouse-brown in colour.

Habits

The male displays by fripping the wings in flight, followed by a series of down-slurred whistles.[3][2] They feed to a large extent on insects, but may in addition prey on chicks of other birds.[3]

Races

There are two accepted races:[3]

T. j. jamesi (Shelley, 1885) – Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, inland Kenya and very locally in South Sudan and Tanzania
T. j. mandanus (Neumann, 1903) – Kenyan coast and adjacent islands

References

BirdLife International (2012). "Tchagra jamesi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)old-form url
Sinclair, Ian; Ryan, Peter (2010). Birds of Africa south of the Sahara (2nd ed.). Cape Town: Struik Nature. pp. 596–597. ISBN 9781770076235.
Fry, H. (2017). "Three-streaked Tchagra (Tchagra jamesi)". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Retrieved 15 April 2017.

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[1] BirdLife International (2012). "Tchagra jamesi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)old-form url

[sinc-2] Sinclair, Ian; Ryan, Peter (2010). Birds of Africa south of the Sahara (2nd ed.). Cape Town: Struik Nature. pp. 596–597. ISBN 9781770076235.

[hbw-3] Fry, H. (2017). "Three-streaked Tchagra (Tchagra jamesi)". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Retrieved 15 April 2017.