Fülleborn's longclaw (''Macronyx fuelleborni'') or Fuelleborn's longclaw, is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family

Motacillidae The wagtails, longclaws, and pipits are a family (biology), family, Motacillidae, of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Around 70 species occur in five genus, genera. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the Afrotropics, and the ...

. It is found in damp grassy habitats in south-central Africa.

Taxonomy

Two subspecies of Fülleborn's longclaw are recognised: *''Macronyx fuellebornii ascensi'' Salvadori, 1907: which is found in Angola, the central and southern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Zambia west of the valley of the

Luangwa River The Luangwa River is one of the major Tributary, tributaries of the Zambezi River, and one of the four biggest rivers of Zambia. The river generally floods in the rainy season (December to March) and then falls considerably in the dry season. I ...

and, rarely, in extreme northern Namibia. *''M. f. fuelleborni'' Reichenow, 1900 :restricted to south-western Tanzania.

Description

Fülleborn's longclaw is similar to the

yellow-throated longclaw The yellow-throated longclaw (''Macronyx croceus'') is a species of bird in the family Motacillidae. Taxonomy and systematics Despite sharing no recent common ancestor, the yellow-throated longclaw and its sister species in ''Macronyx'' are v ...

but it is slightly smaller, stockier and lacks the streaking on the breast. It has a yellow throat surrounded by a black band when adult and the yellow on the throat is duller in juveniles which also do not have the surrounding black band and have some indistinct streaks on the breast, but this is much less in extend than in related species.

Distribution

Fülleborn's longclaw is found in western central Africa from south western Tanzania to Angola and the extreme north of Namibia, where it is a vagrant.

Habitat and ecology

Fülleborn's longclaw is found in wet gassy areas, frequently in the vicinity of water and normally above in altitude. It is largely insectivorous and feeds on mainly on

grasshoppers Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

and

beetles Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

as well as termites and spiders. It nests on the ground during the rainy season.

Conservation

Fülleborn's longclaw has a wide distribution and large population so

Birdlife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

and the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

classify it as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

and the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

of this bird commemorate the German military physician and

parasitologist Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it f ...

Friedrich Fülleborn (1866-1933).

References

Fülleborn's longclaw Birds of Central Africa Fülleborn's longclaw Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Passeroidea-stub