Cape penduline tit

Introduction: Cape penduline-tits (Anthoscopus minutus) are a Namibian resident favouring semi-arid and arid dwarf shrublands in addition to arid Acacia savannah. This species is locally nomadic, often in response to rainfall, usually in pairs or in small family groups.

Distribution: Throughout most of Namibia less for southern Namib Desert.

Diet: Forages amongst branches of bushes and trees to glean insects from bark and leaves. Eats insects, small fruits, spiders, beetles and seeds.

Description: Very small, plain coloured tit with distinctive grizzled black and white frons and forehead and black lores that extend across the base of the bill as a narrow band. Narrow black eye stripe extends behind the eye. Often confused with the similarly-sized grey penduline-tit which has a plain buff (not black and white) forehead.

Breeding: Females lay 4 to 7 eggs daily between September and December and March to April and incubated for around 15 days.

Size: 10cm.

Weight: 7g.