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Moustached Grass Warbler | Melocichla mentalis
Baardgrasvogel | Yerbera Bigotuda
The Moustached Grass Warbler is a sturdy, brown warbler of rank grass along streams and forest edges, with a black malar stripe and a broad tail. It is widespread in tropical Africa and reaches its southern limit in the region in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe. Its loud, rapid song is often the first sign of its presence.
Voice
A loud, rapid and cheerful song of clear notes, such as tip-tip-chewee-chowee-cheroo, often from a tall grass stem or bush. Also a dry, sparrow-like chuk and a rasping alarm call.
Recording: Oliver Fowler — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · converted to mono · xeno-canto
Identification
18–20 cm. The upperparts are plain warm brown, the crown slightly more rufous. A white eyebrow, a white throat and a narrow black malar stripe make the head striking. The underparts are pale buff, washed warmer brown on the breast and flanks. The tail is long, broad and rounded, dark brown with paler tips, and is often fanned. The bill is fairly heavy. The sexes are alike; juveniles have a weaker malar stripe.
Confusion species
Cape Grassbird Sphenoeacus afer has a heavily streaked back, a rufous crown and a long, pointed, ragged tail. Fan-Tailed Grassbird Catriscus brevirostris is smaller, without a malar stripe, and has an even broader, dark tail. Croaking Cisticola Cisticola natalensis has a streaked back, a thick bill and a shorter tail, and ‘croaks’. Little Rush Warbler Bradypterus baboecala is smaller and darker, without a malar stripe, and lives in reedbeds.
Habitat
Tall, rank grass and bracken along streams, dambos and marsh edges, at forest edges and in overgrown fields, in both highland and lowland. It lives hidden low in the vegetation and mainly climbs up to sing.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of southern Africa.
Range and movements
In the region in northern and central Angola (mainly on the central plateau), in most of Zambia and Malawi, in central and northern Mozambique (including around Gorongosa) and in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe (Nyanga, Vumba, Chimanimani). Absent from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. Beyond the region widespread from West Africa east to Ethiopia and Kenya.
- Resident
- Summer visitor (c. Oct–Mar)
- Winter visitor (c. Apr–Sep)
- Passage (Mar–Apr, Oct–Nov)
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Year-round. In Zimbabwe easiest in the rank grasslands and forest edges of Nyanga and the Vumba. In the rains look for singing birds on top of grass tufts; at other times it mainly gives itself away by its calls from dense cover.
Conservation status
Not threatened; widespread and locally common. It sometimes benefits from rank growth on fallow land, but disappears where dambos and stream banks are drained or heavily grazed.
Scientific name
Melocichla mentalis | (Fraser, 1843)
Fraser described the species in 1843 as Drymoica mentalis; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Melocichla was introduced in 1857 by Hartlaub. Melocichla comes from the Greek melos, 'song', and kichlē, 'thrush' — a 'song thrush', for the loud, melodious song. mentalis comes from the Latin mentum, 'chin' — for the white chin and black moustachial stripe. The specimen the first description was based on came from Accra, Ghana.