Oriole Warbler

By Charlie • September 4, 2008 • 3 comments

Oriole Warbler Hypergerus atriceps
Abuja, Nigeria. July 2008

A West African endemic Oriole Warblers breed from southern Senegal to Cameroon and north Zaire (Benin; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d’Ivoire; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Liberia; Mali; Niger; Nigeria; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Togo http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/52393/all). The Oriole Warbler Hypergerus atriceps is the sole representative of its genus and is currently placed in the Cisticolidae after Prinias and Apalises which it is clearly related to (Gill, F. and M.Wright. 2006. Birds of the World: Recommended English Names. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, Version 1.6, June 2008).

Skulking and wary, this beautiful long-tailed warbler is typically found in dense thickets and tangled undergrowth usually near water, and - despite its relatively large size (20cm/7.9 inches) - when it’s not calling is easily overlooked. This one was photographed as it made its way through thick streamside vegetation in a small park in central Abuja, Nigeria (see So How’d Abuja Suit Ya?). A few seconds after I took these images it slipped away and I couldn’t find it again.

oriole warbler

Photographs copyright Charlie Moores

(Don’t forget we have many more galleries on our 10,000 Clicks page)

Tags: abuja, feature, features, nigeria

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About the Author

Charlie

Charlie has birded all over the world for twenty years. He has finally grown-up after years of having way too much fun and is now trying hard to be the writer/conservationist he's always said he wants to be. Blogging with 10,000 Birds is like chatting to hundreds of friends every day and suits him perfectly. Really - do birders get much more fortunate than this?

3 Responses to “Oriole Warbler”

Ambika Sep 4th, 2008 at 10:10 am

That warbler is amazing and dramatic! Looks like something photoshopped, doesnt it?! As if the head belongs to another bird!
Charlie Sep 5th, 2008 at 9:17 am

It really is quite a bird - and I promise that’s exactly how it looks in real-life: I’ve done some odd Photoshop photos for fun, but these are unchanged!
Hypergerus atriceps (Oriole Warbler) | My Bird Info Jan 31st, 2009 at 5:42 pm

[...] Oriole Warbler … Birds / Oriole Warbler … Oriole Warbler Hypergerus atriceps Abuja, Nigeria. July 2008. A West African endemic Oriole … 10000birds.com/oriole-warbler.htm [...]

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