About Batis molitor (Kuster, 1836)
The chinspot batis, scientific name Batis molitor (Kuster, 1836), is a rather stout bird measuring 12–13 cm (4.7–5.1 in) in length. It has a black mask covering its face, a short white eyestripe, a grey cap, and a white throat. Its upperparts are grey with a prominent white wing stripe. The eyes are yellow, while the legs and bill are black. The underparts are white; males have a black breast band, while females have a chestnut breast band and a chestnut throat spot. Young birds are similar in appearance to females, but their breast band and throat spot are tawny. Chinspot batis are distributed across Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Eswatini, Gabon, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This species lives in mainly deciduous savanna woodland, including miombo (Brachystegia) woodland, riverine thickets, bushveld, and scrub. It can also be found in cultivated and human-modified habitats such as orchards, farmland, gardens, and parks. In the mountains of central Africa, it can be found at elevations up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft). Habitat specificity is greater in the northern portions of the chinspot batis's range, where more competition from other batis species occurs. The chinspot batis forms a superspecies with other woodland and forest batis species. In southern Africa, the representatives of this superspecies are the pririt batis, Woodwards's batis, pale batis, and Cape batis. Woodwards's batis and Cape batis replace the chinspot batis in forest habitats. The pririt batis and pale batis replace the chinspot batis geographically: pririt batis occupy arid woodlands to the west, while pale batis occupy humid coastal woodlands to the east. There are currently four recognised subspecies of chinspot batis. B. m. pintoi Lawson, 1966 has a range extending from south-eastern Gabon to Angola, south-western Zaire, and north-western Zambia. B. m. puella Reichenow, 1893 ranges from Eastern Zaire to Uganda, western Kenya, and western Tanzania. B. m. palliditergum Clancey, 1955 ranges from Southern Zaire to Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, and north-western South Africa. B. m. molitor (Küster, 1836) ranges from Southern Mozambique to eastern South Africa.
