Double-banded Courser
Smutsornis africanus
Beautiful, cryptic, upland shorebird. Adults show a scaly back and two bands across the chest. Juveniles lack the chest bands but usually associate with adults. Found within savanna and grassland in very open microhabitats such as gravel plains and heavily grazed patches. Call is an accelerating series of high whistles. Somewhat similar to Three-banded Courser but is more diurnal and has a less complex head and chest pattern.
Identification
The bird's crown is pale and streaked with brown/black feathers. A narrow black stripe extends from the base of the bill, through the eye to the nape. The cheeks, chin, throat and neck are buff/white flecked with dark brown. The feather of the back and wing coverts are sandy brown with dark centres and broadly edged with white/buff. The short bill is blackish, eyes are dark brown and the legs and feet are pale grey.
Taxonomy
Genus: Smutsornis; Family: Glareolidae; Order: Charadriiformes.
- Scientific name
- Smutsornis africanus
- Authority
- (Temminck, 1807)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Glareolidae
- Genus
- Smutsornis
Range and habitat
The double-banded courser is found in Ethiopia, Somalia, South Africa, and Tanzania. The bird is widespread enough to have practically no chance of becoming endangered or extinct.The double-banded courser lives and breeds in flat, stony or gravelly, semi-desert terrains with firm, sandy soil and tufty grass or thorn scrub.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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Usambara Greenbul
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A very small, warbler-like greenbul with an olive-green back, pale underparts, an olive-washed gray cap and nape, and a yellow or orange eye. Found in montane forest at middle elevations. Often joins mixed-species flocks. Very similar in appearance to Tiny Greenbul, but found at higher elevations and darker overall, with an olive-green wash to the crown and nape. Similar in overall coloration to Yellow-streaked Greenbul, but much smaller, with a pale eye. Voice apparently very similar to Tiny Greenbul’s. The call is a rough chattering trill that is often mixed with the song: an accelerating, syncopated series of low nasal notes.
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