Gambaga Flycatcher
Muscicapa gambagae
A drab flycatcher that is uncommon and localized across its range. Some of the key features include vague and blurry streaking on the breast and crown, short wings, and a bill that is dark above and pale below. Found in dry woodland and locally in dry montane forest. Very similar to Spotted Flycatcher, but smaller and shorter-winged, with less distinct streaking on the underparts and crown. Also similar to African Dusky Flycatcher, but slightly larger, paler, and longer-tailed, and found in a different habitat. The call is a short “tik” and the song is a quiet series of short, halting phrases of high-pitched wheezing notes.
Identification
The Gambaga flycatcher (Muscicapa gambagae) is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is sparsely distributed across the Sudan (region) and the Arabian Highlands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland of low to medium canopy height. It is similar in appearance to the spotted flycatcher, but can be distinguished by its smaller size and less distinct streaking.
Taxonomy
Genus: Muscicapa; Family: Muscicapidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Muscicapa gambagae
- Authority
- (Alexander, 1901)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Muscicapa
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Mascarene Paradise-Flycatcher
Terpsiphone bourbonnensis
A pretty and distinctive bird that always lacks the long tail streamers possessed by some paradise-flycatchers. Note the rufous back and tail and the gray underparts. Males and females differ slightly: males have a black cap and a blue eye-ring, whereas females have a dark-gray cap without a distinctive eye-ring. Fairly common on Reunion in all types of humid forest. Rare on Mauritius in remnant rainforest patches. Calls include a tearing “sree-sreeet” and an agitated twittering. The song is a long musical series of “twee” notes.
Chestnut-breasted Munia
Lonchura castaneothorax
Small brownish bird with black face, gray grown, and warm brown chest separated from white belly by distinct black band. Juveniles very plain brownish but usually accompany adults. Frequents very long grass, typically beside wetlands and swamps, across northern and eastern Australia, often in sizable flocks. Often first detected by distinctive bell-like "tink" call.
Nicaraguan Grackle
Quiscalus nicaraguensis
Long-tailed blackbird, very similar to Great-tailed Grackle but smaller. Male is darker black with less obvious glossiness (but still some, usually greenish); female is very similar to female Great-tailed but paler below. Extremely limited range in the vicinity of Lake Nicaragua and Lake Managua, where small flocks can be found in open grasslands and wetlands.
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