Red-tailed Greenbul
Criniger calurus
A medium-sized greenbul often found in flocks in forest and forest edge with other bearded-greenbuls. Like all bearded-greenbuls, will sometimes puff out its throat feathers. Often forages actively in the foliage. Shows a grayish head, a bright white throat, yellow-green underparts, and olive-green upperparts with a reddish tail. Nearly identical to White-bearded Greenbul, and can occur with it in the same mixed-species flocks in Central Africa. Not all individuals can be safely identified. Listen for Red-tailed Greenbul’s distinctive calls as they forage in the branches and leaves, and look for its brighter tail and, at close range, its bigger, wider bill. The species is vocal, frequently giving a “hup-chup-cheer-you-up!” or similar multi-parted variations.
Identification
The red-tailed greenbul (Criniger calurus), also known as the red-tailed bulbul, is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae, native to the African tropical rainforest.
Taxonomy
Alternate names for the red-tailed greenbul include the red-tailed bearded bulbul, red-tailed bulbul and thick-billed red-tailed greenbul.<p>Three subspecies are recognized. Additionally, the white-bearded greenbul was also originally described as a subspecies of the red-tailed greenbul:
- Scientific name
- Criniger calurus
- Authority
- (Cassin, 1856)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pycnonotidae
- Genus
- Criniger
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Gray Bunting
Emberiza variabilis
Small songbird of shady undergrowth, especially dwarf bamboo thickets, found in mid-elevation coniferous or deciduous forests during summer and in shady woodlands and parks during winter. Male uniquely slate-gray; both sexes have warm, rufous-brown rump and tail. Female intricately streaked, rather similar to Black-faced Bunting, but the latter lacks any rufous on tail, and face is not as cleanly striped. Call thinner and sharper than Black-faced Bunting.
Ortolan Bunting
Emberiza hortulana
Fairly small bunting. Males are striking with a green-gray head and yellow mustache, eyering, and throat contrasting with a chestnut belly and intricately marked upperparts. Rump is earth brown and streaked. Females and juveniles are similar but spotted below, head pattern duller, and body less chestnut. Breeds mainly in open and semiopen agricultural areas, slopes, and in mountains with scattered bushes and trees. Non-breeding habitat similar, but includes sparse, highland grasslands and fields. Song is a buzzy “dweedwee-dzeedzeedzzeedzee-dee”, while calls include a mellow, tinkling “deu” and a higher-pitched “deek.”
White-winged Widowbird
Euplectes albonotatus
The breeding male is black with a pale blue bill, brightly-colored shoulder epaulets (chestnut in northeast Africa, yellow elsewhere), and diagnostic white wing panels that are most obvious in flight. The distinctive display is a slow butterfly-like flapping. The non-breeding male is buffy and streaky, but retains the shoulder epaulets and wing panel. The female lacks the wing pattern and has a pale unstreaked belly. Pairs and flocks are resident with local movements in open savanna, brushy grassland, swamps, and cultivated areas.
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