Black-backed puffback

Dryoscopus cubla

The Black-backed puffback (Dryoscopus cubla) is a bird found in South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania. Woods and gardens in eastern and southern Africa. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, reptiles and frogs and fruit. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Dryoscopus cubla
Region	Africa
Found in	South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania

🏡 Where the Black-backed puffback lives

Woods and gardens in eastern and southern Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs50%
🦎 Reptiles & frogs20%
🍎 Fruit20%
🌿 Leaves & plants10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It puffs out the white feathers on its back when showing off.

Hear the Black-backed puffback

Recorded by African Bioacoustics Community (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1146098. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Black-backed puffback

Where does the Black-backed puffback live?

The Black-backed puffback lives in South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania. Woods and gardens in eastern and southern Africa.

What does the Black-backed puffback eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 50%), reptiles and frogs (about 20%), fruit (about 20%), leaves and other plant parts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Black-backed puffback endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Africa

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.