Comoro Blue Vanga

A small dark starling of dry country. The upperparts are iridescent, with a blue sheen on the head and green on most of the wing. Also note the chestnut underparts and the yellow-orange eye. Found in dry thorn savanna and thorn scrub, usually in small wandering flocks, often with other species of starlings. Similar to Hildebrandt’s Starling, but slightly smaller and darker overall, with a deeper rufous belly and a less contrasting green wing. Also reminiscent of Superb Starling, but doesn’t have a white chest band. Gives mewing calls, often in a long, continuous series. 

A small drongo with a dull-black back and a relatively short, distinctively forked tail. The “white-bellied” form has an extensively white belly diffusely demarcated from the dark gray throat and breast. The “white-vented” from is restricted to Sri Lanka and is darker overall, with dark gray underparts and a white vent. The species is similar to juvenile Black and Ashy Drongos, which are larger and have smaller amounts of white, diffused with a dusky color or scaling, on the belly and vent. White-bellied is found in dry and open forests across the Indian subcontinent.

A long-tailed, slender songbird with fine bill. Males rich blue-gray above, white below, with a blue-gray bib with convex lower edge (curves upward at the edges). Crown paler than throat, lending male a bearded appearance in optimal light. Male Satin Flycatcher has uniformly dark head, blackish (not grayish) tail feathers, and concave bib edge. Female paler blue-gray above, with pale orange throat and breast. Inhabits varied woodlands, perches high in the canopy, often shakes the tail rapidly. Song a repeated two-note whistle; call a loud buzzing “zerp.”