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Wattle-eyes, Batises and Shrike-flycatchers

Order Passeriformes    Family Platysteiridae


Platysteiridae is a family of small stout passerine birds of the African tropics. The family contains the Wattle-eyes, Batises and Shrike-flycatchers. They were previously classed as a subfamily of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. These insect-eating birds are found in usually open forests or bush. They hunt by flycatching, or by taking prey from the ground like a shrike. The nest is a small neat cup low in a tree or bush.

Genus Batis
Batis are strikingly patterned, typically with a gray crown, black eye mask, dark back, and paler underparts, often with a colored or black breast band and white on the throat which contrasts strongly with the black eye stripe. Male and female plumages usually differ.

Batis,_Angolan   Batis minulla  Found: Angola, Republic of the Congo, DR Congo, Gabon
Image by: 1) Andrew_Self - Angola  2) Nik_Borrow - Gabon
1) Female 2) Male


Batis,_Bioko   Batis poensis  Found: Equatorial Guinea.
Image by: 1) Nik_Borrow


Batis, Black-headed  Batis minor  Found: Africa
The Western Black-headed Batis was previously considered conspecific with the Black-headed Batis.
Image by: 1) Peter Steward - Kenya  2) Nigel_Voaden - Central African Republic


Batis,_Boulton's also Margaret's Batis   Batis margaritae  Found: Angola, DR Congo, Zambia
Image by: 1, 2)  Nik_Borrow- Zambia  Nigel_Voaden - DR Congo 


Batis,_Cape   Batis capensis  Found: South Africa, Zimbabwe
The male has Cape Batis a brown back; gray crown; black mask; white throat; white underparts with black breast-band; rufous wings, flanks. Female similar with narrower rufous breastpband; rufous patch on throat.
Image by: 1) Paul_Bernard  2) Blake_Matheson - South Africa  3, 4) Nik Borrows - Zimbabwe
1) Female 2, 3) Male


Batis, Chinspot  Batis molitor  Found: Africa
The male Chinspot Batis has black back with white on wing; gray crown; white throat; black breast-band; rest underparts white. Female simialr to male with chestnut throat spot, breast-band.
Image by: 1) Arno Meintjes  2, 3) Dick Daniels - Keekorok Lodge in the Masia Mara, Kenya  4) Joseph Mochoge  - Kenya    5) Johann_duPreez - South Africa
1, 2, 3) Female  4, 5) Male



Batis,_Dark   Batis crypta  Found: east Afica
The male Dark Batis has gray upperparts with some black feather tips; dark gray crown; black face; red eyes; white underparts with black breast band. Female has brown upperparts; gray crown; black face mask; thin white superciliim; rufous chin spot; rufous breast with white tips to some feathers.
Image by: 1, 2, 3, 4) Louis_Andre_Hansen - Tanzania


Batis,_Gray-headed   Batis orientalis  Found: Africa
The male Gray-headed Batis has dark gray upperparts; black tail with white edge; white rump; bluish-black head with white throat; white underparts with black breast-band. Female similar to male but rufous breast-band.
Image by: 1) Nik_Borrow - Ethiopia  2) Kris Maes - Ethiopia  3) Bassel_Abi_Jummaa - Ethiopia
1) Female 2, 3) Male


Batis,_Ituri   Batis ituriensis  Found: DR Congo, Uganda
The male has Ituri Batis black upperparts; black wings with white stripe; black tail with white other edge; black head with white loral spot; white underparts with black breast-band. Female similar to mail but with thin white superciliu..
Image by: 1) Nik_Borrow - Uganda
1) Male


Batis,_Pale   Batis soror  Found: Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe.
Image by: 1) Steve_Garvie - Kenya  2) Maans_Booysen - Mozambique


Batis,_Pririt   Batis pririt  Found: Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa
The male Pririt has dark gray back, crown; black eye-mask, breast-band; white rest of underparts, throat. Female similar but no breast-band; instead has buff breast, throat.
Image by:  1, 2) Alan_Manson - South Africa  3) Ron_Knight  4) Nik_Borrow.- Nambia


Batis,_Pygmy   Batis perkeo  Found: Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda
The Pygmy Batis has black and white plumage; orange eye; thin white supercilium, Female has reddish-brown breast-band.
Image by: 1, 3, 4) Peter_Steward - Kenya  2, 5) Nik_Borrow  - Tanzania, Ethiopia



Batis, Ruwenzori   Batis diops  Found: Africa
The Ruwenzori Batis has bluish-black upperparts; white wing stripe; white underparts with black breast-band.
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - specimen in Nairobi National Museum, Kenya  2) Oleg Chernyshov - Uganda


Batis,_Senegal   Batis senegalensis  Found: Africa
The male Senegal Batis has slate-gray upper-back, mantle; mottled gray, white, and black lower-back; browinish-black wings with white stripe; white underparts with black breast-band; glossy bluish-black mask. Female simalar but duller; rufous breast-band.
Image by: 1) Nik_Borrow - Ghana  2, 3) Steve_Garvie
1) Female 2, 3) Male


Batis,_Short-tailed  also Forest Batis  Batis mixta  Found: eastern Africa
The male Short-tailed Batis has blusih-gray upperparts; black mask; white underparts with black breast band. Female has similar pattern with olive upperparts.
Image by: 1) Nik_Borrow - Tanzania  2, 3) Steve_Garvie - Kenya .
1, 2) Female 3) Male


Batis,_Verreaux's   Batis minima  Found: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon
The male Verreaux's Batis has velvety-black upperparts with mottled rump; black wings with white stripe; black head with white loral spot; white underparts with black breast-band. Female similar to male with smaller loral spot; narrow dark gray breast-band.
Image by: 1) hbw.com


Batis,_West_African   Batis occulta  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Laval Roy - Ghana


Batis,_Western_Black-headed  Batis erlangeri  Found: central Africa
The Western Black-headed Batis was previously considered conspecific with the Black-headed Batis.
Image by: 1) Nik_Borrow - thiopia


Batis,_Woodward's   Batis fratrum  Found: Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe
The male Woodward's Batis has  blue-gray upperparts; mainly black head; white throat; orange-red eyes; black tail with white edges; pale rufous breast, upper-belly, Female has browner upperparts; pale reddish-brown wing stripes.
Image by: 1) Alan_Manson - South Africa  2, 3) Francesco_Veronesi - South Africa
1) Female 2) Male



Genus Lanioturdus - 1 species

Shrike,_White-tailed   Lanioturdus torquatus   Found: Angola, Namibia
The White-tailed Shrike forages from ground level, where it hops about in large bounds and upright posture scanning for insects. It is a clumsy flier with shallow and rapid wingbeats like other batises.
Image by: 1) Jerry_Oldenettel - Namibia  2) Charles_Davies - Angola



Genus Platysteira

Wattle-eye,_Banded   Platysteira laticincta  Found: Cameroon
Image by: 1) Nik_Borrow


Wattle-eye,_Black-necked   Platysteira chalybea  Found: Angola, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon
Image by: 1) Jacob_Cooper


Wattle-eye, Black-throated  Platysteira peltata  Found: Africa
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Dick Daniels - Keekorok Lodge in the Masai Mara  4, 5) Alan Manson - South Africa  6) Francesco Veronesi - Malawi  7) Joseph Mochoge - Gilgil, Kenya
1 - 4) Female  5, 6, 7) Male



Wattle-eye_Brown-throated   Platysteira cyanea  Found: central Africa
The breeding male Brown-throated Wattle-eye has glossy black upperparts; white underparts with neat black breast-band. Female has gray-black upperparts; maroon throat and breast; white belly.
Image by: 1) Tom_Tarrant - Uganda  2) Heather_and_Mike - Uganda 3) Allan_Hopkins - Gambia 4) Steve_Garvie - Gambia  5, 6) Nik_Borrow - Uganda, Ethiopia
1, 2) Female 3 - 6) Male



Wattle-eye,_Chestnut  Platysteira castanea  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - specimen in Nairobi National Museum, Kenya  2) Michael and Helen Cox  3) Brendan_Ryan - Uganda   4) Marcel_Holyoak - Cameroon
1) Male, left; female, right  2, 3) Female 4) Male


Wattle-eye,_Jameson's   Platysteira jamesoni  Found: DR Congo, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania
Image by: 1) Steve_Garvie


Wattle-eye,_Red-cheeked   Platysteira blissetti  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Nik_Borrow


Wattle-eye,_West_African   Platysteira hormophora  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) barty63 - Ghana  2, 3, 4) Nik_Borrow - Ghana



Wattle-eye,_White-fronted   Platysteira albifrons  Found: Angola
The White-fronted Wattle-eye is similar to the Brown-throated Wattle-eye except the White-fronted Wattle-eye has some white on its forehead.
Image by: 1) Pedro_Vaz_Pinto - Angola


Wattle-eye,_Yellow-bellied   Platysteira concreta  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Nik_Borrow - Cameroon
1) Female