Camaroptera brachyura
The Green-backed Camaroptera, also called the Bleating Camaroptera for its easily recognizable call, is found widely over sub-Saharan Africa in dense vegetation ranging from thickets in savannas to forests, where they feed almost exclusively on insects and other invertebrates caught in the undergrowth. In South Africa they’re found in the Lowveld and escarpment of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, through most of Kwazulu-Natal and as far south as the Garden Route along the Indian Ocean coast.
Adult Green-backed Camaropteras are usually encountered in pairs – they’re monogamous and breed in spring and summer. Their nests are ball-shaped formations of leaves held together by spider webs and fibres, built by both members of the pair. Parents take turns to incubate the clutch of 2-4 eggs over a 2 week period and both parents provide food for the hatchlings at the nest until they fledge about 2 weeks after hatching. Fully grown they measure around 13cm in length and weigh only about 11g.
The IUCN lists the Green-backed Camaroptera as being of least concern.
I am impressed you were able to photograph these hard-to-see birds that are usually concealed up in the tree canopy. They are the sound of summer in our garden and I heard the first one calling this season only this week.
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Thanks very much, Carol. It’s always great fun following their calls until you find them.
(P.S. I am so happy summer is back!)
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Me too re summer although 4 days of extreme heat is forecast. … At least though we have had some lovely rain here. Hope you have had some rain too?
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We’ve also had lots of rain so early into the season. Pity the same can’t be said for some other parts of the country where the situation is dire.
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Glad you have had rain, but the ongoing drought in some regions is heartbreaking.
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So mooi kleur, het hulle in Natal gesien.
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Ek kan my nogal goed indink dat hulle volop sou wees in Eshowe, Aletta.
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Pretty bird! With that green back, it should be able hide effectively from predators, making it “of least concern”.
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😀
You’re right, Hien. Almost invariably you’d only hear the Green-backed Camaroptera and have to follow the calls carefully if you want to see it.
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Lovely photographs of a bird I am yet to see.
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Thank you very much, Anne. I hope you get to tick these ones in your garden soon.
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Beautiful!
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They are indeed, Kit. Thanks for your comment.
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