Dark Batis
Batis crypta
The Dark Batis (Batis crypta) is a legendary wattle-eyes and batis found in 2 countries, weighing about 12 g. The dark batis is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Batis in the wattle-eye family, Platysteiridae.
About the Dark Batis
The dark batis is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Batis in the wattle-eye family, Platysteiridae. It is found in highland forest in south-west Tanzania, northern Malawi, and northern Mozambique. These birds were formerly thought to be forest batises but in 2006 were described as a new species based on differences in morphology and mitochondrial DNA from those birds in northern Tanzania and Kenya.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The dark batis is about 10 cm (3.9 in) in length and weighs 10–15 g (0.35–0.53 oz). It has a dark bill and legs and red eyes. The male is white below with a broad black breastband. Above it has a dark grey crown, grey back with some black feather-tips, a black face-mask and black wings with a white stripe. The female has a greyish crown, brownish back, dark mask, slight white supercilium and a narrow rufous stripe on the wing. Below it has a rufous chin-spot and breast with whitish tips to some of the feathers. The forest batis has a slightly shorter tail.
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: April, July, August, September, October, November, December, with peak activity in October. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Dark Batis?
- The dark batis is about 10 cm (3.9 in) in length and weighs 10–15 g (0.35–0.53 oz). Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Dark Batis?
- The Dark Batis is a tiny sized bird weighing about 12 g.
- Where can you see a Dark Batis?
- The Dark Batis occurs in 2 countries, including Tanzania and Malawi.
- What birds look similar to a Dark Batis?
- The Dark Batis is most easily confused with the Angola Batis, the Margaret's Batis and the Ituri Batis.
- Is the Dark Batis endangered?
- The Dark Batis is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Dark Batis for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
Play BeakBrainEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.