Forest Penduline Tit having scientific name of anthoscopus is a genus bird belonging to Remizidae family.
Restricted to Sub-Saharan Africa, the genus bird is found from the Sahel to South Africa.
However, these species are not generally migratory like many of the Eurasian penduline.
Instead, they stay close to their breeding sites throughout the year. A wide range of habitats is occupied by the six species, from deserts to woodlands to rainforest.
Pendulous and elaborately woven nests of forest punduline have false entrances above the true entrance, these in turn lead to a false chamber. Actual nesting chamber is accessed by the parent opening a hidden flap, entering and then closing the flap shut again, the two sides sealing with sticky spider webs. The genus constructs the fake entrances to confuse potential predators and protect the eggs and nestlings from them.
In 1851, the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis introduced the genus Anthoscopus with the Cape penduline tit as the type species. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek anthos meaning “blossom” or “flower” with skopos meaning “searcher”
The six species of the genus bird are as under:
(i). Sennar penduline tit with scientific name of Anthoscopus punctifrons and found in Cameroon, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan.
(ii). Yellow penduline tit with scientific name of Anthoscopus parvulus and found in Sudan region.
(iii). Mouse colored penduline tit with scientific name of Anthoscopus and found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
(iv). Forest penduline tit with scientific name of Anthoscopus flavifrons and found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria.
(v). Grey penduline tit with scientific name of Anthoscopus caroli and found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
(vi). Cape Penduliene tit or Southern penduline tit scientifically known as Anthoscopus and found Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
