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Batis pririt (Pririt batis) 

Priritbosbontrokkie [Afrikaans]; Pririt-vliegenvanger [Dutch]; Pririt de Vieillot [French]; Priritschnäpper [German]; Batis de pririt [Portuguese]

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates)  > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class: Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial vertebrates) > Tetrapoda (four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota > Reptilia (reptiles) > Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria > Dinosauria (dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) > Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves (birds) > Order: Passeriformes > Family: Malaconotidae

Batis pririt (Pririt batis)  Batis pririt (Pririt batis) 
Pririt batis male, Karoo National Park, South Africa. [photo Trevor Hardaker ©] Pririt batis female, Karoo National Park, South Africa. [photo Trevor Hardaker ©]
Batis pririt (Pririt batis)  Batis pririt (Pririt batis) 
Pririt batis male, Augrabies Falls National Park, South Africa. [photo Neil Gray ©] Pririt batis female, Augrabies Falls National Park, South Africa. [photo Neil Gray ©]

Distribution and habitat

Near endemic to southern Africa, with the bulk of its population in arid areas of the Western, Eastern and Northern Capes, Botswana and Namibia, marginally extending into Angola. It is most common in sem-arid woodand, especially Acacia thornveld but also jujube (Ziziphus), raisin (Grewia), shepherds-tree (Boscia) and cluster-leaf (Terminalia) woodlands. It also occurs along wooded watercourses in deserts and sem-deserts and also gardens in rural areas of the Karoo.

Distribution of Pririt batis in southern Africa, based on statistical smoothing of the records from first SA Bird Atlas Project (© Animal Demography unit, University of Cape Town; smoothing by Birgit Erni and Francesca Little). Colours range from dark blue (most common) through to yellow (least common). See here for the latest distribution from the SABAP2.  

Brood parasites

It has been recorded as host of the Klaas's cuckoo.

Food 

It is insectivorous, doing most of its foraging in the lower canopy of woodlands, gleaning its prey from branches and leaves. It also joins mixed-species foraging flocks, especially in the cold winter months.

Breeding

  • The nest is built mainly by the female, and is a small, compact cup made of rootlets, grass and plant fibres, bound with strands of spider web. It is usually placed on a branch of a tree, often resting against a short vertical twig.
  • Egg-laying season is from July-May.
  • It lays 1-4 eggs, which are incubated solely by the female for about 17 days, whilst the male provides her with food.
  • The chicks are care for by both parents, leaving the nest after about 15-18 days, becoming fully independent up to 6 weeks later.

Threats

Not threatened.

References

  • Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005. Roberts - Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.