Yellow-throated Longclaw

Macronyx croceus

A large pipit-like bird with golden-yellow underparts and eyebrow, and a circular broad black necklace emphasizing the yellow throat. The upperparts are subdued streaky brown and the outer tail corners are white, which is a key feature in flight. Pairs occupy grassland and grassy savanna, especially close to water, or when it is flooded. The species often perches up to sing a strongly whistled “chuuu-ew” and variations thereof. The smaller Fülleborn's Longclaw differs from Yellow-throated Longclaw by lacking any streaking on the breast below the black necklace.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Macronyx croceus
Authority
(Vieillot, 1816)
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Motacillidae
Genus
Macronyx

Range and habitat

It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and sandy shores.

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
stable

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Ochraceous Wren

Ochraceous Wren

Troglodytes ochraceus

Tiny short-tailed wren, plain warm brown with brighter buffy face and bold buffy eyebrow. Found in highland forests, where it can be seen sneaking up tree trunks and through vine tangles in search of insects. Often follows mixed feeding flocks. Similar to House Wren, but note warmer color and eyebrow. Listen for song, a high-pitched musical jumble of tinkling notes and short trills.

Black-headed Paradise-Flycatcher

Black-headed Paradise-Flycatcher

Terpsiphone rufiventer

Both sexes show a clean black head and rufous underparts. Males vary considerably across the range. The wing can be completely rufous or have a white stripe; the back can be rufous or gray; and the central tail feathers can be slightly or greatly elongated. Both sexes have a blue bill and ring around the eye. Found in various types of forest and in plantations and thickets. Restless, active, mid-story bird that often joins mixed-species feeding flocks. Call is a series of tearing “shreet” notes, and song a fast, bubbling series of “twee” notes. Similar to other paradise-flycatchers, but easily separated by the rufous underparts and cleanly demarcated black head.

Philippine Green-Pigeon

Philippine Green-Pigeon

Treron axillaris

A medium-sized pigeon of lowland and foothill forest canopy, with green underparts, head, and rump, a gray crown, yellow wingbars and edges to the flight feathers, a whitish belly, and white under the base of the tail. Note the whitish bill with a reddish base and the blue eyes. Male has a maroon shoulder and back, where the female is green. Similar to Thick-billed Green-Pigeon, but Philippine has a thinner bill and lacks the green skin around the eye. Female resembles female Pink-necked Green-Pigeon, but that species has yellow marks only on the edge of the wing. Voice is typical of green-pigeons, including a rising-and-falling out-of-tune whistled song.

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