West African Pied Hornbill

Lophoceros semifasciatus

A small though long-tailed hornbill that is frequently encountered as it flies singly or in groups over the canopy, between forest gaps, and over road cuts. Distinctive, with a bright white belly and a black head, body, wings, and tail, giving it a bicolored appearance. Similar to Congo Pied Hornbill, but usually separated by range, and the tail has white corners (rather than edges), and the bill is pale yellow with a black (rather than red) tip. Calls are a series of high-pitched whistles: “heu heu heu heu.”

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Lophoceros semifasciatus
Authority
(Hartlaub, 1855)
Order
Bucerotiformes
Family
Bucerotidae
Genus
Lophoceros

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
unknown

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

White-browed Laughingthrush

White-browed Laughingthrush

Pterorhinus sannio

A ground-hugging, long-tailed songbird of city parks, forests, and scrubby agricultural land. Brownish above, ochre below, with striking facial pattern: black throat and rear eyeline contrast with earth-brown crown and white cheek and supercilium. Forages in small to medium-sized flocks on the ground and in dense shrubbery. Vocal; loud cackling contact calls used to communicate among flockmates.

Barratt's Warbler

Barratt's Warbler

Bradypterus barratti

A skulky, dull brown warbler with a long and graduated tail, a pale grayish eyebrow, and a throat that is lightly streaked. It creeps around mouse-like in thick undergrowth and tangles in forest and forest edge. It is also found in isolated pockets of scrub, often adjacent to streams, and is frequently detected and identified by its song, mostly delivered between September and December: 2-3 sweet “tsiit” notes followed by a loud trill of 15-20 harsh “tchui” notes. It also has a strident chipping alarm call “tddd-ddr-ddr-ddr-ddr-tt.” The similar Knysna Warbler differs from Barratt’s Warbler by its shorter tail, darker underparts, less pronounced throat streaking, and different song.

Cream-eyed Bulbul

Cream-eyed Bulbul

Pycnonotus pseudosimplex

Dull dirt-brown bulbul with pale button eyes. Currently only known from northern Borneo, where it is the only plain brown bulbul with white eyes. Pale-eyed forms of closely related Cream-vented Bulbul do not overlap in range. Found in a range of forests and forest edges. Like other bulbuls, often joins flocks at fruiting trees. Gives loud “pinks” and quiet sputtering trills.

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