page_title: Chinspot batis
section_title: Breeding
hierarchical_section_title: Chinspot batis / Habits / Breeding
caption_attribution_description: English: Female chinspot batis (Batis molitor) on her nest; built using shredded bark and grass, bound with spider web silk, and decorated with lichen. Ngwenya Lodge, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
context_page_description: The chinspot batis is a small songbird of the genus Batis in the family Platysteiridae which is a common and widespread species in the woodlands of southern Africa from the Eastern Cape north to 3°N in southern Kenya and Gabon. It forms a superspecies with other rather similar members of the genus Batis.
context_section_description: The nest of the chinspot batis nest is a small cup constructed from plant fibres and spider webs and decorated with lichen. It is built by both sexes on a horizontal branch. The female lays one to four eggs which she incubates for 16–18 days, both adults feed the young.
  In a study of the breeding biology of chinspot batis conducted in Swaziland it was found that the nests were mainly constructed in bushes or trees protected by thorns. The eggs were laid between late September and early January, in the austral spring, with a notable peak in laying in November. The chinspot batis studied had a fledging rate of 0.65 fledglings per pair per annum. Pairs were normally single brooded unless breeding failed or fledged chicks disappeared. A replacement nest is normally built where a previous nest had failed. The adults were observed to prey mainly on caterpillars and moths and this was confirmed by observations at the nest as the young were fed predominantly with moths and caterpillars. The study also found that the rate at which nestlings were fed was dependent on their age, the older chicks receiving food more often than younger ones. In contrast to nestlings, younger fledglings were fed at a higher rate than older ones.
caption: Female incubating
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