Rufous Babbler

Mid-sized, generic-looking warbler-like bird. Males have a glossy blue-black back, a white wing patch, and pale yellowish underparts. Females are similar, but more gray-brown on the back. Found in savanna with broadleaf trees, including miombo and Guinea savanna. Usually in pairs or small groups, which will join mixed-species feeding flocks. The quiet vocalizations include chatty calls and trills. Very similar to Southern Hyliota. In most of the range, Yellow-bellied males distinguished by the longer white patch on the wing, and females by their grayer upperparts. In Uganda and Kenya, males are extremely similar, but Yellow-bellied can still be recognized by its more glossy blue-black back.

A small, very dark brown shorebird with a very short thin bill and a distinct white eyebrow. Upperparts spotted with buff, underside spotted or barred with brown. Legs yellow or grayish. In flight, looks very dark with very rounded wings. Prefers coastal shoreline and bare gravel of tiny atolls. Combination of odd proportions, very short thin bill, and white eyebrow should make this species unmistakable. Most common call is a nasal “kek,” but when excited gives a loud piping whistle and a series of rising and falling trills.

Brightly-colored pinball of a bird. Male is blue above and yellow below with a narrow red crown and an orange flush on the breast. Female has a gray head, olive-yellow wings, and yellow underparts that are slightly duller than the male’s; also note white throat. Both sexes have namesake yellow rump. Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker can be similar; note lack of white moustache stripe on Yellow-rumped. Forages actively in all levels of forest and forest edge in lowlands and foothills.