About Nilaus afer (Latham, 1802)
This species, commonly called the brubru, has the scientific name Nilaus afer (Latham, 1802). It is a small passerine bird that measures 12–15 cm in length. The adult male of the nominate subspecies N. a. afer has a black crown, white supercilium, white forehead, and a black eyestripe. Its back is black with a tawny strip, its rump is mottled black, and its tail is black with white tips and edges on the outer feathers. The wings are black with a buff shoulder stripe, and the underparts are white with rufous flanks. Females are duller and browner than males, with streaking on the underparts and less rufous coloring on the flanks. Juveniles have mottled brown, buff, and white plumage on their upperparts, with buff edges along their wing and tail feathers. Juvenile underparts are whitish with brown barring. The most distinct of the other recognized subspecies is N. a. nigritemporalis, which occurs in a central belt across Africa. Males of this subspecies have no supercilium, and a white shoulder patch instead of a buff one. Other subspecies vary in the extent of their supercilium, the extent of their rufous flanks, and the shade and degree of streaking on their underparts. The brubru's song takes the form of a duet: the male produces a soft prrrrruuu call, which is often answered by the female's eeeu call. Brubru occupy dry open woodland as their habitat, with preferences varying across their geographic range. Six northern races and the southern African subspecies are found in acacia and broadleaved woodland. The three subspecies living in a belt stretching from northeastern Angola and northern Namibia east to Tanzania and northern Mozambique occur in Brachystegia miombo woodland.
