About Camaroptera brachyura (Vieillot, 1821)
The green-backed camaroptera (scientific name Camaroptera brachyura), also called the bleating camaroptera, is a small bird belonging to the family Cisticolidae. This species is a resident breeder across Africa located south of the Sahara Desert. Recent research indicates this bird and the grey-backed camaroptera may actually be the same species. This reclusive passerine is typically found at low heights within dense vegetation cover. The green-backed camaroptera binds large leaves together low in a bush, and constructs its grass nest inside this bound leaf structure. A normal clutch for this species contains two or three eggs. Adult green-backed camaropteras are 11.5 cm long warblers. They have green upperparts, olive-colored wings, and whitish grey underparts. The sexes of this species have a similar appearance, while juvenile individuals have paler yellow coloration on the breast. Like most related species, the green-backed camaroptera is insectivorous. French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot first described this species in 1821, under the binomial name Sylvia brachyura. The designated type locality for this species is the Cape of Good Hope. Its specific epithet brachyura comes from Ancient Greek: brakhus means "short" and -ouros means "-tailed". Five recognized subspecies of Camaroptera brachyura exist: C. b. pileata Reichenow, 1891, found from southeast Kenya to southeast Tanzania; C. b. fugglescouchmani Moreau, 1939, found in northeast Zambia, north Malawi and east Tanzania; C. b. bororensis Gunning & Roberts, 1911, found in south Tanzania, south Malawi and north Mozambique; C. b. constans Clancey, 1952, found in southeast Zimbabwe, south Mozambique and northeast South Africa; C. b. brachyura (Vieillot, 1821), found in south and east South Africa.
