Greater Green Leafbird

Widespread and abundant in cities, neighborhoods and farms. Avoids dense woods. Flocks cluster in dense bushes, bustling around and chattering to one another. Males have smart black bibs, bright rufous napes, and stunningly patterned wings with brilliant buffs and browns. Underparts are pale pearly-gray. Females are plain brown with cute face and lighter eyebrow. Native to Eurasia; introduced to much of the rest of the world.

A nest parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of pytilias. As with other whydahs, breeding males are spectacular and bizarre, whereas non-breeding males and females are drab and inconspicuous. Breeding males are mostly black, with a rufous collar and a long tail with an odd widened area at its base. Non-breeding males and females have a brownish back, pale underparts, and a reddish bill. Generally scarce and local in broadleaf woodland and lush savanna. Breeding male similar to other paradise-whydahs, but has a longer tail than Sahel Paradise-Whydah, a shorter and thicker-based tail than Togo Paradise-Whydah, and a slightly shorter tail and more rufous collar than Eastern Paradise-Whydah. Non-breeding male and female can be cautiously identified by their combination of a reddish bill, pinkish legs, and simple facial pattern. Not very vocal, but does imitate pytilia vocalizations. 

A small passerine bird with black-and-white plumage. The head, upperparts, and tail are black. The sides of the neck and underparts are white. The wing shows a prominent white slash, and the outer tail feathers are white. The bill is black and the upper mandible is hooked at the tip. Usually found in mixed-species foraging flocks, feeding on insects in the mid-canopy by hawking prey in mid-air like flycatchers, hence the name. Inhabits a wide range of forested habitats. Song is a sweet-sounding series of bouncing notes: “tsilikee-tsilikee-tsilikee!”