Chestnut-flanked Sparrowhawk
Aerospiza castanilius
A tiny hawk with a dark slaty back, an owl-like facial expression, and dense red-brown and gray barring on the breast with redder flanks. These dark colors contrast with the hawk’s yellowish face and legs. Rarely encountered in thick forest, where it can sometimes be seen attending to driver ant swarms. This species closely resembles the larger Red-chested Goshawk, but note the small size and, if possible, look for the long inner claw relative to the other toes. Vocalizations undescribed.
Identification
Chestnut-flanked sparrowhawk has blackish grey upperparts with a very distinctive pattern on the underparts; the breast and belly are heavily barred grey and brown, with chestnut colored flanks. The throat is white and the head is rather broad compared to similar species. The cere is yellow as is the thin eyering which surrounds the red eye. Females and juveniles are browner. They sit 25 cm (9.8 in) tall and have a wingspan of 60 cm (24 in).
Taxonomy
Closely related to the African goshawk Accipiter tachiro and the red-chested goshawk Accipiter toussenelii, albeit smaller than either of those species. It is normally regarded as monotypic, although some authorities recognise the smaller birds in the Congo Basin as the subspecies Accipiter castanilius beniensis.
- Scientific name
- Aerospiza castanilius
- Authority
- Bonaparte, 1853
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Estrildidae
- Genus
- Aerospiza
Range and habitat
The chestnut-flanked sparrowhawk occurs in west central Africa from southern Nigeria through Cameroon and Gabon to Democratic Republic of Congo. It is said to occur in the Upper Guinean forests west of Nigeria but this has not been confirmed. The chestnut-flanked sparrowhawk is found mainly in lowland tropical rainforest, mainly in the middle storey but it can adapt to dense secondary growth and will approach habitation in the forest. It is found up to 750 m (2,460 ft) above sea level.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Chestnut-crowned Bush Warbler
Cettia major
Medium-sized bush warbler. Brown with a white throat, pale buffy brow, and rufous crown. Gray-sided Bush Warbler is similar but smaller, with a whiter brow stripe and paler, more gray-toned sides. Chestnut-crowned can be separated from other bush warblers by a combination of its size, bright rufous crown, and strong head pattern. Breeds in foothill and montane areas up to the treeline; prefers dense shrubby areas, particularly with an abundance of rhododendrons. In the winter, descends into lower foothill and lowland areas with scrubby edge growth. Song is a sharp, high “tih-wih-wih-wihr.” Calls include a sharp, bunting-like “tseep.”
Red-throated Tit
Melaniparus fringillinus
An unusual tit with a rufous face, collar, and breast and a gray cap and back. Also note the prominent white wingbars on the gray wings. Found locally in dry acacia savanna, usually in small groups; readily joins mixed flocks with other species. Easily separated from all other tits by the rufous breast. Call is a classic tit “tsit-tsit-di-di-di,” rough and often repeated. The song is a repeated phrase of two whistles.
Mindanao Cuckooshrike
Coracina kochii
Burly gray cuckooshrike with dark eyes and a heavy bill. Endemic to the southern and east-central Philippines, from Bohol east to Samar, and south to Mindanao and Basilan. Both male and female are gray above and barred black-and-white below. Inhabits lowland and foothill forest and forest edge, where forages at middle and upper levels, sometimes associating with other species. Gives a range of high-pitched and scratchy calls, including doubled screeching notes: “whee-wheet!” Formerly treated as part of a more broadly-defined “Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike”.
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