Eastern Rock Nuthatch

Small active warblerlike tanager with sharply pointed bill. Male blue with thin black mask, black throat and back. Female also distinctive, body entirely lime green with mostly blue head. Usually seen in pairs or small groups in the canopy of lowland and foothill forests, edges, and secondary growth. Often follows mixed feeding flocks. Feeds on fruit.

A grayish bushshrike with green wings and tail and a unique head pattern: the black mask curls down to form a narrow black breast band surrounding the white throat. Some morphs have a purple dot at the base of the throat. Juvenile has less distinct face pattern than adult. A rare resident, restricted to a handful of sites in the Cameroon-Nigeria highlands, where it is found singly and in pairs in the canopy of primary hill forest between 930 and 1550 meters of elevation. Calls include an electric grating “cha-cha-cha-chggrrt-chggrrt-chggrrt” like a laser-gun sound effect in a computer game, as well as harsh croaking, whistles, and ticks. May snap wings when agitated. 

A strange, chunky rusty-brown forest babbler with a white face and throat, pale blue-gray eyes, and a pale bill, rendering it unmistakable. Juvenile has a browner throat. Family groups of 5–12 move quickly and noisily through the canopy and middle levels of montane forest between 1000 and 2100 meters of elevation, dangling upside down or behaving like nuthatches, investigating moss, ferns, and bark for food. Groups give harsh grating calls mingled with sweeter nasal “nyeeer” notes.