Southern Boubou

Product Description

Southern Boubou

The male Southern Boubou is a fairly distinctive 20–22 cm long bird with black upperparts extending from the top of the head down to the tail, a striking white wing stripe, and a relatively long black tail with white outer feathers. The underparts are white shading to rufous on the lower belly, undertail and flanks. The bill, eyes and legs are black. It resembles the Common Fiscal, Lanius collaris, but is shorter tailed, has more white in the wing, and is much less conspicuous in its habits.

The female is similar to the male, but dark grey above and with a rufous wash to the breast. Young birds are like the female, but mottled buff-brown above, have a buff wash to the wing bar, and are barred below.

The rufous on the underparts, which gives this species its scientific name, distinguishes it from the Tropical and Swamp Boubous.

There are six subspecies, differing in size, upperpart colour, the extent of rufous on the underparts, and the degree of sexual dimorphism. The Southern Boubou has a duetted call, with a ooo-whee-ooo, followed by a whistled ooo-ooo-wheee or wheee-wheee followed by ooo-whee-ooo. The duet has many variations and the liquid ooo-whee-ooo call is often mistaken for that of the Black-headed Oriole. Its alarm call is a muted cluck.

Sample sound

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