Cercotrichas quadrivirgata
The Bearded Scrub-Robin inhabits dense woodland, thickets and riparian forests. They are excellently camouflaged as they search for insects and spiders in the leaf litter on the forest floor, and often go unnoticed. Adults weigh around 20-30g.
Bearded Scrub-Robins are usually encountered singly or in monogamous, territorial pairs or family groups, and breed in spring and summer in cup-shaped nests built of grass, leaves, twigs and roots, lined with mammal hair, in holes and cavities against the trunks of trees. Here the female incubates a clutch of 2 or 3 eggs for 2 weeks. The chicks grow rapidly and leave the nest at 2 weeks old, becoming independent of the parents about a month later.
In South Africa, Bearded Scrub-Robins are only found in the north of Kwazulu-Natal and the Lowveld and escarpment of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, the species has a wider distribution into Africa north of our borders, extending all the way to Kenya.
DeWetsWild 
The ‘beard’ isn’t what I find most striking, but rather the stripes above and below the eye. It gives him a rather roguish look 🙂
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Especially if you are a helpless worm squirming your way through the leaf litter…
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Hello. These are very much like wagtails which I am pleased to say, are plentiful in my garden. I think I have seen the bearded scrub robin in KZN game reserves and KNP.
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That is very likely, Kim – these photos were all taken either in Kruger camps or the well known reserves of northern KZN.
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Very cute! They kinda look like my white crowned sparrows… without the beard 😉
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They’re always a treat to follow around as they search for food in the underbrush!
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I have to say – I love that name!
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And seen straight from the front that white stripe down its throat looks exactly like a long beard, so a well deserved name at that!
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Beautiful pictures, as usual. You always manage to come so close to the birds, what´s your secret? 🙂 The bird belong to the nightingale family, so the English name is a bit confusing. But in English the family name is just Scrub Robin. I thought it was a kind of robin, as we have here in Sweden. Strange they can´t translate the name equal. 😀
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I think the names were given originally many years ago based on a superficial resemblance, and then years later all manner of scientific study determines that the bird isn’t what it appeared to be!
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Lovely – Robins are very special. I was surprised at its weight, though. A heavy little one.
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Must be bulking up on its protein-diet!
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😊
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