Gabon Boubou
Laniarius bicolor
Chunky black-and-white bushshrike. There is a white slash across the wing, and the underparts are pure white. Uses habitats that include marsh, gallery forest and woodland, thick scrub, and mangroves. Found in pairs, which usually skulk, but sometimes hop about in the open. Song is a perfectly synchronized duet in which the male gives a hollow rising whistle and the female a low ratchet. Similar to Tropical Boubou, but easily separated by lack of rufous tones to the underparts and different vocalizations.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Laniarius bicolor
- Authority
- (Hartlaub, 1857)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Malaconotidae
- Genus
- Laniarius
Range and habitat
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Gabon, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are regenerating forest, moist to seasonally dry savannah thicket, coastal scrubland and mangroves, and ravine forests of the Angolan escarpment. In the south of its range it is confined to floodplain systems. Along these rivers and swamps they frequent dense, tangled riparian vegetation, edges of reedbeds, papyrus stands or clumps of water fig on islands.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Large Hawk-Cuckoo
Hierococcyx sparverioides
This species’ maddening song can be likened to the phrase “brain-FEVER,” which adequately describes what this bird gives birders trying to see one as it sings high up in the forest canopy. If seen well, note hawk-like appearance, with a long barred tail, brown upperparts, and patterned white underparts. Orangish flush on chest apparent in adults. Favors hill and montane forests when breeding; often found at lower altitudes and in forest edge and scrubby areas when migrating and on wintering grounds.
Ochraceous Pewee
Contopus ochraceus
This rare flycatcher is restricted to the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama from around 2,200–3,000 m. It is tawny-colored overall, paler yellow on the belly, with two brownish wingbars, an orange lower mandible, and a peaked crest. Very similar to Tufted Flycatcher, but larger and longer-billed. Perches conspicuously on exposed snags at the edge of montane forests. Listen for its piercing “pee-pit!” song and pip calls.
Buff-crested Bustard
Lophotis gindiana
A fairly small bustard of thick brush in dry country. The male has a buff crest that is usually hidden, and both sexes have a black belly. Found in dry savanna and thornscrub habitat with lots of bushes, unlike most bustards, which prefer grass-dominated habitats. Similar to Black-bellied and Hartlaub’s Bustards, but smaller, and prefers different habitats. Larger than Little Brown Bustard, with a black belly. The call is a rising and accelerating series of distressed-sounding notes that often precede the display: a quick flight up, then a plummet to the ground.
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