About Chaetops aurantius E.L.Layard, 1867
The Drakensberg rockjumper, also known as the orange-breasted rockjumper, has the scientific name Chaetops aurantius E.L.Layard, 1867. It is a medium-sized insectivorous passerine bird endemic to the alpine grasslands and rock outcrops of the Drakensberg Mountains of southeastern South Africa and Lesotho. This taxon is closely related to the allopatric Cape rockjumper Chaetops frenatus. The two species of Chaetops are the only living members of the Chaetopidae, the rockjumper family. This rockjumper is 23–25 cm long, with a long black tail and strong legs. The male has a dark grey head with a thin white supercilium and a broad white moustache. Its back and wings are dark grey. Its underparts are orange and its rump is rufous red. The female and juvenile have a paler grey head, upperparts and wings, a duller head pattern, an orange rump, and buff underparts. The call of this species is a loud wheeoo. By comparison, the male Cape rockjumper has rufous red underparts, and female and young Cape rockjumpers have darker buff underparts than C. aurantius. This is a ground-nesting species that forages on rocky slopes and scree, and it frequently perches on rocks. Breeding is often cooperative: one or two additional individuals, usually a pair's offspring from the preceding breeding season, may assist the parents in territorial defence and alarm calling, and in feeding nestlings and fledglings.
