Yellow-bellied Eremomela

The yellow-bellied eremomela (Eremomela icteropygialis) is an Old World warbler. However, the taxonomy of the "African warblers", an assemblage of usually species-poor and apparently rather ancient "odd warblers" from Africa is currently in a state of flux. Today, most taxonomists consider members in this genus members of the family Cisticolidae. The yellow-bellied eremomela is a common breeding species in Africa south of the Sahara in its habitat of open woodland, savannah, and dry scrub. == Description == The yellow-bellied eremomela is a very small bird 10 cm long and weighing around 9 g. Its upperparts are grey, becoming darker and more olive on the wings and tail. There is a thin pale grey supercilium and a blackish stripe through the eye. The grey breast shades into the lemon yellow belly. The bill is blackish. The subspecies vary in the extent and intensity of the yellow on the belly, and birds in western southern Africa have whitish throat and breast. The sexes are similar, but the juvenile has duller yellow underparts than the adult. The call is a high-pitched repeated tchee-tchee-tchuut. == Behaviour == The yellow-bellied eremomela builds a cup nest in the branches of a tree or shrub, and lays…