About:
The **Rufous-vented Warbler** (*Curruca subcoerulea*) is an Old World warbler found in southern Africa. Here are some key details:
1. **Description**:
– **Distinctive Appearance**: The Rufous-vented Warbler is a gray bird with a pale eye, a streaked throat, and a rufous vent (underside). It also has large white patches on its tail.
– **Habitats**: It inhabits various habitats with thick shrubs, including fynbos, karoo, semi-desert, and savanna.
– **Behavior**: This species is fairly skulking and is usually detected by its vocalizations—an exuberant mixture of ratcheting notes, chatters, and whistles⁴.
2. **Geographic Range**:
– **Subspecies**:
– *Curruca subcoerulea subcoerulea*: Found in western South Africa, from the Northern Cape south of the Gariep (Orange) River, east to southwestern Free State.
– *Curruca subcoerulea ansorgei*: Occurs along the coastal areas of southwestern Angola.
– *Curruca subcoerulea cinerascens*: Found in Namibia and Botswana.
– *Curruca subcoerulea orpheana*: Occurs in Zimbabwe, eastern South Africa (to eastern Free State and KwaZulu-Natal), and Lesotho¹.
3. **Breeding Range**:
– The Rufous-vented Warbler breeds in southern Africa, including Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Eswatini².