About Salpornis salvadori (Bocage, 1878)
The African spotted creeper, with the scientific name Salpornis salvadori, is a small passerine bird that belongs to the family Salpornithidae. This species occurs in sub-Saharan Africa, where it inhabits open deciduous forest and mango groves. It does not engage in long-distance migration, only making local movements. The African spotted creeper has plumage that is strongly spotted and barred. Its plumage is closely similar to that of the Indian spotted creeper, but is clearly distinct from the plumage of treecreepers in the genus Certhia. This bird can weigh up to 16 grams, which is 0.56 oz, twice the weight of treecreepers that have a similar length of up to 15 cm, or 5.9 in. It has a long, thin, pointed, down-curved bill that it uses to pull insects out of bark. However, it lacks the stiff tail feathers that Certhia treecreepers use to support themselves on vertical trees. Its nests and eggs are also quite different from those of Certhia treecreepers. The African spotted creeper builds a cup-shaped nest that is placed on a horizontal branch, usually in a branch crotch. The nest is camouflaged with spiders' egg sacs, caterpillar frass, and lichen. A clutch usually contains three eggs, which are blue or greenish, and marked with grey, lavender, and brown.
