Pale batis

Appearance

The pale batis is an active, black, white and grey bird which is pale grey above with a black face mask bordered by a thin white supercilium, yellow eye and a pale grey back, mottled with faint white spots. It has white underparts marked with a black band across the breast in males; females have a pale rufous breast band and a similar coloured spot on the chin. The bill and legs are black. Immature birds are similar to the female except that the breast band is browner and the underparts have a buffy wash. The pale batis measures 10.5–11.5 cm in length and weighs 8–13.1 g.

Distribution

Eastern Africa from coastal Kenya including the Arabuko Sokoke National Park south through eastern and south-eastern Tanzania, the islands of Zanzibar and Mafia, to Mozambique as far south as the Save River, inland to south eastern Malawi, and the east-facing slopes of the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe.

Habitat

The pale batis typically occurs in lowland miombo woodland, normally below 500 m in coastal woodlands where there is a mosaic of forest and dense scrub. Can also be found in mopane and acacia around the edges of its distribution. In the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe it is found up to 1,500 m above sea level in tall "Uapaca kirkiana" stands, thickets of "Philippia" spp. and woodland dominated mountain acacia.