About Tchagra senegalus (Linnaeus, 1766)
The black-crowned tchagra, with the scientific name Tchagra senegalus (Linnaeus, 1766), is a colourful, easily identifiable species that measures 19–22 cm in length. It has a black crown and black eye stripes, which are separated by a broad white supercilium. Its underparts are pale grey, while its upperparts are pale brown. When folded, its wings are chestnut in colour; its tail is black with white tips, and its bill is black. Males and females have similar plumage, but young birds have a brown cap and a pale yellow bill. Fourteen subspecies are currently recognized, and they vary from one another in size, and in the colour of the back, underparts, and eyestripe. This species produces a descending whistling song transcribed as chee-chee chee cheroo cheroo. Individuals can be easily lured into view by imitating this call, likely because the bird reacts to the imitation as it would to an intruder in its territory. Males of the species also perform a switchback display flight.
