Barthroated apalis

The barthroated apalis, scientifically known as Apalis thoracica, is one of the small birds found living at both the southern and northern extremes of South Africa, the Cape Peninsula and Agulhas to the northernmost part of the Limpopo Valley and beyond. It also occurs along the KwaZulu-Natal coast but not quite to the western extreme, the Richtersveld coast.

It shuns much of the dry interior, picking forest margins, bushy kloofs and woodland if it’s not too dry; also fond of people’s shrubby gardens. Places where insects like caterpillars, their food, can be found among undergrowth to canopy on all parts, flowers, leaves and bark are visited frequently when hungry, quite boldly as these birds are not shy.

Their eggs are colourful: from greenish blue to pinkish white, spotted red-brown and pale grey. They breed at different times in the different parts of the country and region, the nest having a side entrance near the top (Maclean, 1993).