Rüppell's Robin-Chat
Cossypha semirufa
A colorful robin-chat of montane habitats. The head is strikingly patterned, with a black cap and cheek, a white eyebrow, and an orange throat. The tail has a black center and broad orange sides that can be conspicuous in flight. Found in the dense understory of montane forest and in lush woodlands and gardens, usually in pairs. Very similar to White-browed Robin-Chat, but generally found at higher elevations and in more forested environments. Also separated by a different and far more variable song, and by the black rather than greenish center to the tail. The song is complex, variable, and musical, and can include imitations of other birds. Frequently gives a distinctive sequence of whistles in a high-low-high-low pattern.
Identification
It is a smaller version of the White-browed robin-chat, measuring 18 cm rather than 20 cm, with darker, blackish central tail feathers, and in some races a more constricted supercilium behind the eye.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Cossypha semirufa
- Authority
- (Rüppell, 1837)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Cossypha
Range and habitat
It is found in subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, including Juniper and Podocarpus forest, and in subtropical or tropical moist shrubland and gardens. It is native to Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Tanzania.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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.
Gray Fantail
Rhipidura albiscapa
Small songbird with long, pale-tipped tail, tiny, thin bill. Gray above, pale below, with narrow pale wingbars and a thin black border between white throat and chest. Frequently cocks and fans tail. Subspecies vary in upperparts tone and extent of white in the tail. Inhabits wide range of habitats, very active in foraging, and rarely perches in the same place for long.
Grandala
Grandala coelicolor
Often seen swirling in flocks above mountain passes, scrubby alpine forests, and highland meadows, this large thrush is unlike any other. Adult male is a deep, almost eye-searing blue with jet-black wings. Females and immatures are brown with white streaks all over the head and underparts and weak white bars on the wings. Long-billed and sharp-winged profile, along with flocking behavior, is more reminiscent of starlings than thrushes.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.