Woodwards's batis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Woodwards's batis
A female at Cape Vidal, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Platysteiridae
Genus:	Batis
Species:	B. fratrum
Binomial name
Batis fratrum (Shelley, 1900)
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The Woodwards's batis or Zululand batis (Batis fratrum) is a small, active bird. It belongs to the wattle-eyes family, called Platysteiridae. You can find this bird in woodlands and forests in southeastern Africa.

What is a Woodwards's Batis?

The Woodwards's batis is a tiny bird, about 10.5 cm (4.1 in) long. That's about the length of a pen! It weighs between 10.3–13.8 g (0.36–0.49 oz), which is less than a few coins.

How to Spot a Woodwards's Batis

This bird looks a bit like a flycatcher. It has a blue-grey back and a short white stripe above its eye, called a supercilium. A black mask covers its face, and its eyes are a bright orange-red. Its tail is black, with white edges and tips on most of the feathers.

Male vs. Female Birds

Male and female Woodwards's batises look a little different. This is called sexual dimorphism.

• The male has white on his wings, chin, and throat. His chest and upper belly are a pale reddish-orange.
• The female has more brownish or olive-grey feathers on her upper body. Her wing stripe and underparts are pale reddish-brown.

Young birds look similar to females but have a less clear face mask. Both males and females have black beaks and legs.

Where Do They Live?

The Woodwards's batis lives only in southeastern Africa. You can find it in the far northeast of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa. It also lives along the coast of northern Mozambique and in southern Malawi. You might also see it in the remaining forests of southeastern Zimbabwe.

Their Favorite Homes

These birds love different kinds of forests and woodlands. They prefer:

• Lowland and evergreen forests
• Dense acacia woodlands
• Sand forests
• Forests along rivers (riparian forests)
• Miombo woodlands

In Malawi, they can live in areas up to 600 m (2,000 ft) high.

How They Live

Woodwards's batises are very active birds. They spend their days looking for food.

What They Eat

They mostly eat insects. They catch their prey by picking it off twigs, leaves, and branches. They often hover in the air while they do this, like a tiny helicopter!

Nests and Eggs

The nest of a Woodwards's batis is a loose, shallow cup. They build it from small roots, plant tendrils, pieces of dead leaves, and sometimes lichen. They use spider webs to hold it all together.

Unlike some other birds in their group, they usually build their nests among climbing plants or leaves. They rarely place them in a tree fork. Females lay 1 to 3 eggs between October and November. The female probably sits on the eggs to keep them warm, just like most other batises.