Gray-headed Batis

About the Gray-headed Batis

The grey-headed batis (Batis orientalis) is a species of bird in the wattle-eyes family, Platysteiridae, it was previously classified with the Old World flycatchers in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in eastern and central Africa.

The grey headed batis is a small grey, black and white bird with restless habits. In the adult males the forehead, crown and nape are bluish black, there is a small white loral spot which extends into a long, broad, supercilium, there is a small white patch on the nape and the face mask is glossy black. The mantle and back are dark grey with a tinge of glossy black, the fluffy rump is white and the uppertail coverts are black. The wing is black with a white stripe and the tail is black with white outer tail feathers. The underparts are white, except for a glossy black breast band and blackish underwing coverts. The female is similar to the male but has a chestnut or rufous breast band. It has yellow eyes, a black bill and black legs. The grey-headed batis measures 10–11 cm (3.9–4.3 in) in length and weighs 8.8–13.4 g (0.31–0.47 oz).

It is found in western central and east Africa from Niger and Nigeria... Wikipedia →