Minahasa Masked-Owl

A gregarious small green parrot with a red bill, white eye-ring and chocolate-brown face. Immature has a duller bill and eye-ring. Pairs and small and large flocks inhabit tall broadleaf Mopane and mixed woodlands, where they can be locally common; very range-restricted to a small portion of southwest Zambia. Gives a variety of chittering and screechy chatters that draws attention to their presence. The similar Lilian’s Lovebird differs from Black-cheeked Lovebird by its orange-red face.

Distinctive and attractive, but a rarely seen denizen of fresh and brackish wetlands, especially with shallow water and low to knee-high grasses; also found on lakeshores with taller reeds and rushes. Occasionally seen feeding quietly at edge of vegetation, but mostly seen when flushed from close range. Flies up silently with stiff flicking wingbeats and brief glides, long legs trailing, and drops back to cover usually not far away. Note bold white spots on wings and droop-tipped bill. Related to jacanas, not closely related to the typical snipe.

Unusual, chunky, short-tailed, crested, yellow-eyed member of the vanga family. Males are strikingly black-and-white, with a small white patch at the front of the wing. Females have a chestnut back, blackish head, and pale underparts. The wings are short and rounded, and the flight is weak. Found in the canopy of humid forest, at low and middle elevations, often along forest edge and clearings. The variable song consists of slurred whistles. Calls include rasps and clearer bulbul-like notes.