Yellow-throated longclaw
Species of bird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The yellow-throated longclaw (Macronyx croceus) is a species of bird in the family Motacillidae.
| Yellow-throated longclaw | |
|---|---|
| |
| In the Serengeti, Tanzania | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Motacillidae |
| Genus: | Macronyx |
| Species: | M. croceus |
| Binomial name | |
| Macronyx croceus (Vieillot, 1816) | |
Taxonomy and systematics
Despite sharing no recent common ancestor, the yellow-throated longclaw and its sister species in Macronyx are very similar in both coloration and behavior to the meadowlarks of North America, an example of convergent evolution.[2]
Description
They have yellow underparts and a black "bib" on the upper chest.[3]
They may be distinguished from the closely related pangani longclaw by its yellow under tail-coverts, which the pangani lacks. The pangani also has an orange throat, whereas the yellow-throated does not.[2]
Behavior and ecology
Longclaws are generally solitary, except when found as mated pairs.[2]
Range
It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and sandy shores.
Gallery
Eating a locust at Mikumi National Park, Tanzania
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