Straw-tailed Whydah
Vidua fischeri
A nest parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of Purple Grenadiers. As with other whydahs, breeding males are spectacular, whereas non-breeding males and females are drab. Breeding males are mostly black, with golden-buff coloring on the cap, the belly, and the elongated central tail feathers. Non-breeding males and females have a brownish back, a golden-buff head, and a red bill. Found in rather dry savanna and cultivated areas. Non-breeding male and female can be identified by their red bill and their almost unmarked plain buff head. Not very vocal, but does imitate Purple Grenadier, and gives a quick jumble of high-pitched whistled notes.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Vidua fischeri
- Authority
- (Reichenow, 1882)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Viduidae
- Genus
- Vidua
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds

Little Bee-eater
Merops pusillus
A small, mostly grass-green bee-eater with a canary-yellow throat separated from buff underparts by a black line across the throat. Singles and pairs occupy grassy savanna and wetland edges. They often perch lower than 1.5 m above the ground, and dart around hunting flying insects, then returning to the same small twig. Calls include a sibilant “s-lip” and other high-pitched notes. The Blue-breasted Bee-eater is slightly larger and has a white patch on the cheek. The much larger Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater has burnt orange underparts, and it prefers highland forest above 1800 m.

Lesser Adjutant
Leptoptilos javanicus
A large stork with a completely bare head and neck ideal for its scavenging habits. The adult’s face is red and the neck is yellow while the juvenile has a brownish head and a white, thinly-feathered neck. The upperparts are all dark while the underparts are mostly white. In flight, note the broad wings with distinctive white “armpits” and tucked in neck. Similar to the larger Greater Adjutant; Lesser has a more slender bill, has all-dark upperwings, and often adopts a more upright, less “hunched” posture. Often found in shallow marshes, fields, and swamps.

Snares Penguin
Eudyptes robustus
Medium-sized crested penguin, endemic to New Zealand. Note the thin, vivid yellow eyebrow that droops behind the eye to form a bushy tufted crest. Also look for prominent pale pink skin at the base of its chunky red bill. Breeds in colonies only on the Snare Islands. Adults disperse widely in winter. Vagrants recorded molting around South, Stewart, Chatham, and Subantarctic Islands. Forages in small groups at sea. Distinguished from Fiordland Penguin by conspicuous pale pink skin at the base of the larger bill and the lack of white cheek stripes. Told apart from Erect-crested Penguin by crest beginning toward the top of the bill and splaying out more dramatically. Rockhopper Penguin is smaller.
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