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.
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