Varzea Thrush

Medium-sized, streak-backed, long-tailed cisticola of uplands. Note the rufous cap and pale stripe above the eye. Found in miombo, other types of woodland, and savanna. Inconspicuous, and usually seen singly or in pairs. Song is a series of very high-pitched notes. Calls include quick trills and ascending slurs. Similar to Rattling Cisticola, but smaller, longer-tailed, and brighter rufous on the head, with a more prominent stripe above the eye. As with all cisticolas, habitat and voice are important cues in identification.

Small flycatcher with a gray head, an olive-brown back, a dark tail, and two grayish wingbars. Subspecies vary in the colour of rump (yellowish or brown) and belly (pale yellow or white). The similar Chapada Flycatcher has a white rump, a yellow belly, a broad whitish tail tip, and a different song and display. Inhabits savanna-like areas with scattered trees and bushes. The song is an easily recognizable series of “pi-chew” notes.

A regal, rather thickset crane of highland lakes and wet pastures. Pale-bodied with a black neck, a dark drooping ‘bustle’ of elongated feathers above the tail, and a patch of bare red skin on the crown. Winters at lower altitudes, along the shorelines of large lakes and flooded agricultural fields. It may be confused for the smaller and more abundant Common Crane; look out for the all-dark neck and tail.