African Shrike-flycatcher
Megabyas flammulatus
A distinctive shrike-like bird of forest and forest edge, often seen perched upright on branches wagging its tail from side to side. Looks like a heavyset flycatcher with a large hooked bill, a big head, a relatively short tail, and a large body. Males are typically white below and black above with a red eye and a white rump patch. Females are white below with strong black streaking and white lores, and generally reddish-brown above with darker primary flight feathers. Similar to Black-and-white Shrike-Flycatcher, but African Shrike-Flycatcher has a white throat and no crest, and females have streaked undersides. Calls include a descending “PWHEEEeeeer,” single “cherdew” calls, and doubled sets of variable, almost mechanical phrases: “perit-perit, tchledew-tchledew.”.
Identification
The African shrike-flycatcher or red-eyed shrike-flycatcher (Megabyas flammulatus) is a species of bird in the vanga family Vangidae. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Megabyas.
Taxonomy
Genus: Megabyas; Family: Vangidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Megabyas flammulatus
- Authority
- Verreaux, J & Verreaux, É, 1855
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Vangidae
- Genus
- Megabyas
Range and habitat
The African shrike-flycatcher is found in the African countries of Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia. <p>Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Synthliboramphus hypoleucus
Small black-and-white diving seabird, unlikely to be seen from land. Usually found as singles or pairs, well offshore, and not usually associating with other seabirds. Like most small alcids, dives when alarmed or takes off and flies straight away from the boat. Very similar to Scripps’s Murrelet (the two were once lumped as Xantus’s Murrelet), but white in face more extensive, such that eye stands out in a white area rather than merging into the black cap. Underwings bright white overall, like Scripps’s but unlike dusky underwings of Craveri’s Murrelet.
Lined Quail-Dove
Zentrygon linearis
Plump ground-dwelling dove. Large for a quail-dove with buffy face, gray crown, scaly neck, and white throat. Body mostly brownish. Sexes alike. Very similar to White-throated Quail-Dove but no range overlap and typically occurs at slightly lower elevations. Found in the foothills and subtropical zone up to 2,500 m. Usually walks on the ground unless flushed into the lower levels of a tree. Like most quail-doves, often best seen by quietly walking along trails at dawn and dusk. Listen for low-pitched “coo” notes.
Black Drongo
Dicrurus macrocercus
An adaptable songbird of open areas such as farmland, forest edge, meadows, wetlands, and fields and a common sight as a familiar dark silhouette perched on wires, fences, or snags. Black plumage flashes blue and green iridescence in favorable light, though much less so than in Hair-crested or Bronzed Drongo. A pugnacious species, frequently chasing away larger birds with repeated dives and harsh chattering calls. A skilled mimic of other species, and a strong songster in general, delivering a wide range of pleasant fluty calls, harsh chattering, nasal notes, and high sharp whistles.
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