The orange-breasted bushshrike or sulphur-breasted bushshrike is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae. Another bird, Braun's bushshrike, is also sometimes called the orange-breasted bushshrike.
Region
Eastern and Southern Africa
Typical Environment
Widespread in savanna and woodland from Kenya and Tanzania south through Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia (Caprivi), and into northeastern South Africa and Eswatini. It favors miombo and mopane woodlands, riverine thickets, and well-vegetated woodland edges. Often occupies secondary growth and tangled scrub, including along forest margins. It is generally absent from open treeless grasslands and dense closed forest.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1800 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Also known as the sulphur-breasted bushshrike, it is a secretive woodland bird often heard before it is seen. Pairs perform distinctive antiphonal duets, with male and female alternating notes rapidly. The name can cause confusion because Braun's bushshrike is sometimes also called orange-breasted bushshrike. It frequents dense thickets and woodland edges, where it forages quietly within cover.
Temperament
secretive and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats between cover
Social Behavior
Usually found singly or in pairs, keeping to dense foliage. Pairs maintain territories and perform antiphonal duets, often at dawn. Nests are cup-shaped and placed low to mid-level in dense shrubs or tangles, where both sexes help rear the young.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Varied, melodious whistled phrases delivered in rapid antiphonal duet, with male and female alternating notes seamlessly. Calls include clear piping notes and sharp chucks given from concealed perches.
Plumage
Olive-green upperparts with bright orange to sulphur-yellow underparts; throat often paler yellow grading to richer orange on the breast. The head can show a faint grayish crown and darker lores, with a small pale wing spot sometimes visible. Tail and wings are greenish with subtle darker edging.
Diet
Primarily feeds on insects such as beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and mantids, as well as spiders and other arthropods. It occasionally takes small vertebrates and may consume some berries opportunistically. Prey is gleaned methodically from leaves, twigs, and bark, or snatched in short sallies within the understory.
Preferred Environment
Forages in dense thickets, woodland edges, and riverine scrub where cover is abundant. Often works mid to lower levels of vegetation, moving quietly through tangled growth. Will follow mixed-species flocks along forest margins.
