African Spotted Creeper
Salpornis salvadori
Although it is in a different family from the treecreepers, this species has typical creeper structure and behavior. The intricately spotted and barred plumage is gray-brown and white. Generally uncommon and local in a variety of moist woodland types, including miombo and Guinea savanna. Creeps its way up a tree, then flies down to start up another tree. The song is a quiet, high-pitched, up-and-down series of “seet” calls.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Salpornis salvadori
- Authority
- (Barboza du Bocage, 1878)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Salpornididae
- Genus
- Salpornis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-chinned Fruit-Dove
Ptilinopus leclancheri
Portly green dove of tropical lowland forest canopy. Male unmistakable, with cream-white head, neck, and upper breast contrasting with dark wings, tail, and body. Male’s black chin very difficult to see. Female a dark mossy green with a contrasting pale yellow bill, unlike any other pigeon in its range. Generally uncommon and unobtrusive. Song a deep, throaty “rrrooooooo” that does not carry far.
Rufous-throated Wren-Babbler
Spelaeornis caudatus
Tiny brown ball of a bird with a gray face, a scaled chest, and a bright orange throat. Like other wren-babblers, often remains well hidden in dense undergrowth. Restricted to the eastern Himalayas, where it inhabits gullies, ravines, and valleys with extensive cover in foothill and montane forests. Song is a loud, bright “witchity-witchity-witchity!”
Striped Kingfisher
Halcyon chelicuti
A small and dainty woodland-dwelling kingfisher with powder-blue tail and flight feathers, creamy collar, dark eye-stripe, and streaky brown crown. Singles and pairs are inconspicuous in the mid-canopy of parkland-like savanna and woodland, preferring more arid thornveld than other dryland kingfishers. It draws attention to itself with a loud, ringing “teeep-tiiii-rrrrrrr” and rollicking “trrreerrr-treeerr-treeer” calls.
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