Black-Backed Puffback
Dryoscopus cubla
Also known as: Southern Puffback
Habitat
Mid-canopy
Diet
Omnivore
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
26 g
About This Species
This small black-and-white shrike-like bird favours mid-canopy foliage in savanna woodland and thornveld across southern and eastern Africa, where it hops along branches gleaning insects and caterpillars. It is most easily located by its odd, mechanical-sounding call, a rattling series that gives the species its common name, often delivered from a partly concealed perch. Activity peaks in the cooler hours around dawn and dusk, and pairs frequently forage together within mixed woodland bird parties.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- A respectful distance of 10-15 metres is generally enough to observe normal foraging behaviour without causing birds to flee into cover.
- Protections for small woodland birds vary considerably across the countries within its range, from strict nature reserve rules to more general wildlife acts, so check local regulations rather than assuming a single standard applies everywhere.
- Avoid using recorded calls to draw the bird in, since this can disrupt its normal foraging and territorial behaviour.
Seasonal Activity
213,655 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Malaconotidae
Traits
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Foraging
- Mid-canopy
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 26 g
Photo
(c) Paolo Candotti, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Paolo Candotti
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.