Batis molitor
The Chinspot Batis is a common inhabitant of savanna and woodland, and more recently also orchards and gardens, where it feeds almost exclusively on insects and spiders foraged from among the bark and leaves of trees and shrubs. They avoid forests and exotic plantations.
These very active little birds (adults weigh only about 12g) move around singly or in pairs, often in mixed groups together with other small insectivorous bird species.
Both sexes build the cup-shaped nest of shredded leaves bound together with spider web and camouflaged with lichen in a fork of a (often thorny) tree. Breeding takes place in spring and summer, when 1-4 eggs are incubated by the female for around 18 days. During this time the female rarely leaves the nest as the male supplies her with food. Both parents take care of the chicks, which leave the nest at around 16-18 days old but stay with their parents for another 6-14 weeks. The male defends the pair’s territory year round.
The Chinspot Batis occurs widely from Kenya (in the east) and Angola (in the west) southwards and is listed as being of least concern by the IUCN. In South Africa it can be found from the Eastern Cape, through Kwazulu-Natal, to Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and the eastern parts of the North West Province.
DeWetsWild 
Parmantige voëltjie
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Vir so klein dingetjie is hulle nogal windlawaai ja!
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Pragtige foto’s Dries! Ons kry die Cape Batis (Kaapse Bosbontrokkie) hier by ons.
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Baie dankie Aletta!
Ons het so 3 fototjies van die Kaapse Bosbontrokkie gekry in die Drakensberge, maar hoop vir nog n paar wanneer ons die Nasionale Parke in die Wes- en Oos-Kaap gedurende Desember besoek.
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Ek hoop so!
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It´s a very beautiful bird. You always manage to take so nice picture of the bird, and of other animals as well. 🙂 Now we in Sweden is heading against autumn and winter, and the bird life will consist mostly of geese, where I live.They coming from the north of Sweden to stay here to the spring, thousands of them, most Canada Geese, who nesting up in the country. Here we have greylag geese, but the latest year many of them stay here even under winter, they use to move south. But we also get Sea Eagles, and colder winter, more sea eagles enter land to hunt geese. I use to visit visitor center´s bird feeder, there are about ten species of small birds. Before when I was home every day, I could follow the birds, and it was very interesting to note their behavior. 🙂
I have not have any luck to get picture of raptors, more then red kite, sea eagle, buzzard, which I haven’t seen this year, who moves from Sweden during the winter, and osprey, who also leave us now.
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It is a very similar situation here in South Africa, John – we are just far enough south to have some rather cold winter weather, meaning many “tropical” and European bird species stay only for the summer. And then many of those species that do stay throughout the year are dressed in very drab plumage in winter, taking on their breeding colours only in spring and summer.
Mind boggling to think that some of those individual birds you’ve photographed and published on your site recently may soon feature on de Wets Wild too when they come visit us in South Africa!
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What a gorgeous bird! Great shots. 🙂
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Thanks, H.J.! And welcome here!
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