Red-headed Malimbe
Malimbus rubricollis
A striking black-and-red forest malimbe lacking a breastband in either sex. Male has red from the forehead to the upper back, with spurs creating a half-collar on the neck. Female is like the male but the forehead is black to the center of the crown. Juvenile is like the female, with a paler bill and a brown forehead. A common resident in its range, preferring the canopy of primary and secondary lowland forest, farmbush, woodland, and occasionally gardens. Forages nuthatch-style in pairs and small groups and often dangles upside down, clinging to branches and examining crevices. Vocalizations include whistles accelerating into sizzling notes “whetdoteew-dzrsrsrrrr.”
Identification
The red-headed malimbe (Malimbus rubricollis) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is native to the African tropical rainforest.
Taxonomy
Genus: Malimbus; Family: Ploceidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Malimbus rubricollis
- Authority
- (Swainson, 1838)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ploceidae
- Genus
- Malimbus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Cape Starling
Lamprotornis nitens
A medium-sized iridescent blue-green glossy starling that lacks dark ear-patches and has greenish flanks and belly, giving it a more uniform appearance than the “blue-eared” starlings. Pairs and small groups occupy high-altitude grassland, Karoo, and savanna, including drier habitats than other glossy starlings. The species feeds on the ground and in trees on fruit and insects; often it scavenges from people. It gives a rolling “turrreaau” flight call and harsh “karrr” alarm notes. Similar “blue-eared” starlings differ from Cape Starling by being smaller and having blue-magenta flanks and belly that give them a less uniform appearance.
Gray Crowned-Crane
Balearica regulorum
A spectacular, mostly blue-gray crane with a black-and-white face and a crown of golden-yellow plumes. Immatures are rustier than adults. Singles, pairs, and flocks prefer wetlands, flooded grasslands, and man-made water bodies, but they can range widely through other open habitats when foraging. Resident but may be locally nomadic in response to rain. Groups can often be detected by their low plaintive bugling “maaah-hem” call. The similar Black Crowned-Crane differs in having slaty-gray coloration, smaller red facial wattles, and red-and-white (rather than white) cheek patches.
White-bellied Cuckooshrike
Coracina papuensis
Medium-sized slender bird, pale gray above, white below, with a small dark bridge between the bill and eye (lores) and faint partial white eyering. Immature lacks distinct mask of Black-faced Cuckooshrike. Dark morph shows large but variable black bib and breast, mottled or barred at the edges. Inhabits eucalypt forest and other woodlands in Australia, Indonesia, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. Call a high-pitched, two-note squeak.
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