Bokmakierie (Telophorus zeylonus)

Cover image of Bokmakierie by Ryan Tippett – Carnarvon District, Northern Cape – BirdPix No. 114349

Identification

The Bokmakierie should be familiar to many due to its bright colours, loud, ringing vocalisations and its willingness to adapt to suburban parks and gardens.

Adults are brightly coloured with an eye-catching black gorget (throat/neck band) that contrasts with the bright yellow throat and supercilium.

The crown, nape and ear coverts are grey. Upperparts, including the mantle, back and rump are olive green. The lower breast and belly are bright yellow with grey flanks.

The tail pattern is striking. The tail feathers are black with broad yellow tips forming a broad yellow terminal band at the tip of the tail. The central tail feathers, from base to tip are olive-green. This tail pattern is most obvious when in flight.

The bill is strong with a hooked tip and the legs are dark grey. The sexes are alike in plumage colouration.

Juveniles are dull olive green above. The breast is greyish-green while the flanks and belly are dull yellowish green with grey barring. They have a greyish face and lack the adults yellow supercilium, black gorget and yellow throat. Juveniles share the same tail markings as the adults.

The Bokmakierie superficially resembles the Yellow-throated Longclaw (Macronyx croceus) and both have a black gorget (throat/neck band) and yellow underparts. However, the Bokmakierie has a uniform green back (not scaled brown as in the longclaw) and a stout hooked bill.

Status and Distribution

Generally common where it occurs. The Bokmakierie is near-endemic to Southern Africa, extending a short distance into south-western Angola. It is widespread in South Africa, and occurs in all provinces, although it is marginal in Limpopo. There is an isolated population of Bokmakieries in the Chimanimani Mountains of Zimbabwe and neighbouring Mozambique.

It is unlikely that the distribution of the Bokmakierie has changed in the historical past. It is not considered threatened and its preferred habitats, for the most part, do not coincide with prime agricultural land. This species has benefitted from the establishment of parks and gardens in suburbia.

Habitat

The Bokmakierie is most prevalent in scrubby habitats and is most abundant in the Karoo, Fynbos and Grassland biomes. It favours habitats with scattered shrubs or trees in open areas, including dune scrub, renosterveld, Nama and Succulent Karoo, Protea scrub, grasslands with bush clumps, bushy, boulder-strewn hillsides, alien tree plantations and orchards and vineyards. In the Karoo, the Bokmakierie favours wooded drainage lines, but also occurs commonly in open shrublands and around farmyards. The Bokmakierie readily enters parks and gardens in built-up areas.

It largely avoids woodlands with the exception of Valley Bushveld in the Eastern Cape in which it is common. However, around the edges of its range in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, eSwatini and North West Province, it occurs at low densities in light mixed woodlands and savanna.

The Bokmakierie has been recorded from the coast to around 3000 m above sea level.

Behaviour

The Bokmakierie calls frequently and has a loud ringing call that can be heard up to two kilometres away. They have a complex and diverse repertoire of vocalisations including duets and a mix of other harsh vocalisations.

Generally resident and sedentary throughout its range. There is, however, evidence of some altitudinal migration in the Lesotho highlands and the Drakensberg Mountains of KwaZulu-Natal. Here they may move seasonally away from high altitudes to find food and to avoid winter frost and snowfalls.

The Bokmakierie is usually encountered in pairs, or in family groups of 3. They are partly terrestrial and spend much of their time foraging on the ground. They run or hop quickly between cover or when capturing prey. They also glean food from twigs and foliage and occasionally hawk flying insects, especially termite alates.

Mainly feeds on invertebrates but some vertebrate prey is also captured. Consumes a wide range of insects including but not limited to grasshoppers, beetles, antlions, caterpillars, mantids, stick insects, termites, ants, plant bugs and flies. Other invertebrates taken include spiders, centipedes, millipedes, snails and earthworms. Vertebrate prey consists of lizards, geckos, chameleons, small snakes, frogs and small birds. The diet is also supplemented with small fruit and berries when available.

Large or awkward food items are wedged between forked branches to allow the bird to dismember its prey or to tear off pieces.

Pairs are strongly territorial and can be very conspicuous in boundary disputes and involve pairs confronting each other with duetting, much posturing, exaggerated bobbing movements, wing-flicking and tail-fanning. They are often attracted to reflective surfaces such as windows and car rear-view mirrors where they ‘shadowbox’ their own image, often accompanied by guttural croaking sounds.

The Bokmakierie is monogamous and mate fidelity is strong due to well developed duets between the pair. These serve to strengthen and maintain partnership bonds. Males advertise their control of a territory by singing loudly from an elevated perch.

The nest is built by both sexes and is usually well hidden in dense foliage. The nest a neat, open cup, made from small twigs, leaves, grass and other fine plant material. Breeding can take place year-round, usually with a spring peak during August. They lay between two and six blueish eggs per clutch. Incubation starts upon completion of the clutch and incubation duties are shared by both sexes. The nestling period lasts for around 20 days Bokmakieries are usually double-brooded, meaning that they will attempt to breed more than once during the season. Some broods may, on occasion, be parasitised by the Jacobin Cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus).

Further Resources

Species text adapted from the first Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1), 1997.

The use of photographs by Alison Sharp, A.M. Archer, Gregg Darling, Lance Robinson and Pamela Kleiman is acknowledged.

Virtual Museum (BirdPix > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name).

Other common names: Bokmakierie (Afrikaans); iNkovu (Zulu); Ingqwangi (Xhosa); Pjempjete (South Sotho); Gladiateur bacbakiri (French); Bokmakierie-klauwier (Dutch); Bokmakiri (German); Boquemaquire (Portuguese).

Recommended citation format: Tippett RM 2023. Bokmakierie Telophorus zeylonus. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at http://thebdi.org/2023/08/07/bokmakierie-telophorus-zeylonus-2/

Bird identification, birding