Bates's Swift

A distinctive black helmetshrike with a bright yellow crown and crest, orange eye-rings, and pink legs and feet. A rare and threatened species restricted to four locations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, found in pairs and small groups at middle levels and in the canopy of Albertine Rift montane forest. Somewhat similar dark starlings and drongos lack yellow on the head. Poorly known vocalizations are described as a varied bubbling, chattering, and piping and a repeated loud melodious “tlu-uk.” 

Nest parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of Jameson’s Firefinch. Breeding males are glossy purplish-black, with a pale brownish panel in the wings, while females and non-breeding males are streaky and brown on the back and pale below, with a bold facial pattern. The bill is whitish and the legs very pale pink. Found in forest edge, cultivation, thick woodland, and scrub. Mimics the vocalizations of its host firefinches: a fast trill. Extremely similar to Variable Indigobird. In South Africa, separated by its pale pinkish legs. Elsewhere, breeding males probably slightly more glossy but only separated with certainty by hearing mimicked vocalizations of host species.

Spiffy warbler found in boggy areas. Blue-gray above and yellow below with distinctive yellow spectacles and necklace of black streaks. Legs are pale orange. Females show fainter necklace than males. Typically found in low vegetation, especially wet woods and thickets. Nests on the ground. Feeds on insects. One of the longest-distance migrant warblers; winters in South America.