Mountain Grackle

A very widespread small heron, common across much of the globe. Small size and overall gray color separates from most other herons and bitterns. Look for contrasting dark cap, distinct pale edges on wing feathers, and white and rufous stripes on front of neck. Juvenile streakier below than adult. Similar to Green Heron but note mostly gray neck with restricted rufous. Juvenile is much smaller and more slender than juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron, with long streaks on the chest and spotting restricted to the wings. Normally solitary, found standing quietly around wetland habitats such as marshes, agricultural fields, rivers, and lakes.

A bright rusty-cinnamon warbler with a long and graduated tail, a slightly darker face, and a pale throat and belly. Juvenile is duller than adult, with yellowish underparts. Resident, restricted to a few highland areas in southeast Nigeria and northwest Cameroon, where pairs creep around mouse-like in thick undergrowth and tangles in montane forest and scrub between 1600 and 3000 meters of elevation. Frequently detected and identified by its song, an insistent rollicking “chee-lip” delivered 3–4 times a second for 10 seconds at a time, getting progressively louder. It also has a strident alarm call “krrr.” The similar Evergreen Forest Warbler differs from Bangwa in its duller underparts and different song. 

Fairly bright mid-sized leaf-warbler, yellowish-green above and white below with two wingbars, a broad yellow-suffused eyebrow, and a pale stripe across a gray crown. Amount of white in the tail is intermediate between White-tailed Leaf-Warbler and Emei Leaf-Warbler. A brighter crown stripe separates Blyth’s from the Emei, and unique behavior serves to distinguish this species from White-tailed: Blyth’s constantly flicks wings one after the other, while White-tailed flicks them simultaneously. Kloss’s Leaf-Warbler is much brighter overall, especially on the head and vent. Hartert’s and Claudia’s Leaf-Warblers are closely related, physically similar, and may pose issues in areas of overlap: look out for a more yellowish breast on Hartert’s and a whiter eyebrow and less white in the tail in Claudia’s. Blyth’s song is a high “tsi-tsslehlee-tsslehlee” or “tsi-tchew-witty-tchew-witty-tchew,” with the introductory note separating it from Hartert’s but not always Claudia’s. Breeds in broadleaf (often oak), coniferous, or mixed forests at middle to high elevations, and descends into lower foothill regions in the winter.