Congo Moor Chat
Myrmecocichla tholloni
An unusual and distinctive Central African chat. Mostly gray-brown with a white throat, rump, and undertail and white wing patches that are conspicuous in flight. Found locally in grassland, usually in pairs or small groups. Hops along the ground or sits up on low perches. Structure and behavior similar to Sooty Chat, but gray-and-white plumage is completely different. The cheerful song alternates higher whistled notes and lower chirruping notes. This song is often given in a hovering display flight.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Myrmecocichla tholloni
- Authority
- (Oustalet, 1886)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Myrmecocichla
Range and habitat
It is found in Angola, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Gabon. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland and subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds

Chapin's Flycatcher
Fraseria lendu
An extremely drab flycatcher that is gray-brown on the back and slightly paler below. With a good view, the short pale line above the bill is visible. A scarce and localized species of humid forest at middle elevations. Similar to African Dusky Flycatcher, but slightly larger and completely unstreaked on the underparts. Separated from other flycatchers by its plainness. The call is a short, spitting trill and the song is a long series of whistles, squeaks, and trills, given at high speed.

Geelvink Pygmy-Parrot
Micropsitta geelvinkiana
A tiny parrot of forest on Biak and Numfor Islands. Typical pygmy-parrot shape with green body, yellow under the tail and brown face. Male has yellow mark down the center of the underparts and a yellow spot behind the crown. Numfor birds have a blue crown and males a blue cheek. Nuthatchlike behavior, foraging for lichens and fungus. As with other pygmy-parrot species, makes a nest in arboreal termitaria. The only pygmy-parrot in range. Call, a high-pitch twittering.

Aberrant Bush Warbler
Horornis flavolivaceus
Small shy warbler. Dull brown with a paler belly and brow stripe. Like most bush-warblers, difficult to see as it moves through dense foliage. Listen for its sweet song, consisting of a few introductory notes followed by two long whistles: “ti-ti-tchew weeeeee-cheeeeee’. Visually very difficult to separate from Yellowish-bellied Bush Warbler and Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler, and differences are extremely subtle. Himalayan breeders average more greenish on the back than either of the other two species, and have a strong yellow wash on the belly; Brownish-flanked, with which Aberrant overlaps in the eastern Himalayas, is much browner overall. In central China, Aberrant overlaps with Yellowish-bellied, which has a pale gray throat instead of a yellowish-buff one. Aberrant breeds in shrubby edge, bamboo stands, and open bushy areas in montane and hill areas; upper altitudinal limit averages higher than both Yellowish-bellied and Brownish-flanked.
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