The Bush Blackcap (Lioptilus nigricapillus) is one of two Blackcap species found in the region. Both Blackcaps prefer high altitudinal forests in hilly terrain; the Eurasian in far western Mozambique and the Bush in Eastern South Africa.
The Bush Blackcap is endemic to South Africa and is rather a sought-after bird in it's high-altitudinal Afromontane Forests (often bordered by grassland) mainly in the Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and in the Limpopo provinces. Good places to search for this bird include the forest trails at Monks Cowl and Drakensberg Sun in Cathkin Park. In the area we recorded 4 pairs of this rare bird in one day! Other areas include hiking trails in the quiet forest town of Hogsback and Ouhout (Leucosidea) dominated gullies on the Sani Pass.
The Afrikaans name of the Bush Blackap is a Rooibektiptol. Although as we've seen, this bird is not a bulbul (tiptol in Afrikaans), the bird does have a distinctive red bill where it is often the only one in it's preferred habitat. Bush Blackcaps also have red feet that is clearly visible in flight and used to distinguish the birds perching in the canopy. But further than that, the birds seem rather dull and dark under the shade of the forest.
This bird produces a bulbul-like call, but is much more extended and often starts with mimicry of the Olive Bushshrike and Black-Capped Bulbul. It is a high concentration of melodious whistles given in a period of 4 to 7 seconds. The blackcap also produces a alarm call that sounds much like a crow which is played on fast speed. But this call is rarely heard. Birds call most often during the breeding season (from September to January) and is quiet the rest of the year.
Bush Blackcaps are unobtrusive and often only glimpsed as a dark bulbul-like figure gliding through the canopy in groups of one to three. Birds become tame on famous hiking trails and are prone to perch more open. This I experienced on a trail from Monks Cowl in northern Kwazulu-Natal where birds didn't seem to mind us. But nevertheless these birds are always in close proximity to cover and regularly photographed hidden behind vegetation. Using playback on this bird is a great method to get males to respond and be more prone to flying around and perching more obtrusively especially in the afternoon and in the non-breeding season when, as I already mentioned, birds are often quiet and secretive. This is although a bird with a very limited breeding range and population, so playback should often be used not more than once or twice especially during the breeding seasons. I recommend you search for these birds on early mornings during October till January. Then you'll see that playback isn't needed at all!
Bush Blackcaps are partial altitudinal migrants meaning that only in certain areas birds migrate to different set of altitudes. In this case, birds in very high areas such as near Lesotho will move to areas closer to sea-level during the non-breeding season often in mist-belt forests and coastal forests in the southern Eastern Cape and eastern and southern Kwazulu-Natal.
Distinguishing Bush Blackcaps from Black-Capped Bulbuls
Features | Bush Blacap | Dark-capped Bulbul |
Seen in forest interior? | X | |
Red feet and bill? | X | |
Calls during flight? | | X |
Yellow vent? | | X |
Perches obtrusively on forest edges? | | X |
Short call? | | X |
Mimics other birds? | X | |
Bulbul-like call? | X | X |
Slender shaped? | X | X |
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Written and designed by Ruven Schoeman