Scientific name: Prinia maculosa
The Karoo prinia has short rounded wings, a longish tail, strong legs and a short straight black bill. The head has a whitish eyebrow and the upperparts are otherwise brown. The throat and lower face are whitish with dark streaking and the rest of the underparts are yellowish white or yellow with distinct black streaking. The long tail has a dark spot near the end and is typically cocked up at an angle. The feet and legs are pinkish-brown, and the eye is dark brown. The sexes are identical, but juveniles are much yellower below than the adults and less heavily streaked.
Endemic to southern Africa, occurring from the extreme south of Namibia to the Northern, Western and Eastern Cape, extending into the Free State and Lesotho. It is common to locally very common, preferring shrubland such as fynbos, Karoo scrub and renosterveld but also occupying gardens, thickets of alien Acacia trees and strandveld.
It eats a variety of small invertebrates, gleaning them from the leaves and stems of bushes.
