Silver-eared Laughingthrush
Trochalopteron melanostigma
Attractive medium-sized laughingthrush with a gray body, golden-yellow wings, dark face, and chestnut crown. Also note dark orangish “bib”, the color of which varies by range; northern birds have the brightest patches. Namesake silver ear patches are rather rounded and blend smoothly into the gray of the neck. Scratches around noisily in dense undergrowth, often singly, or in pairs or small flocks; may come out into the open in areas where routinely fed and habituated to people. Found in montane and hill forests, as well as forest edges with dense low growth. Gives a mellow “wowee-wowEER!”
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Trochalopteron melanostigma
- Authority
- (Blyth, 1855)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Leiothrichidae
- Genus
- Trochalopteron
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Hildebrandt's Spurfowl
Pternistis hildebrandti
Mid-sized francolin in which males and females are strikingly different. Males have a brown back and are boldly marked with black and white below. The smaller female is plainer, with rufous underparts. Found locally in a wide variety of habitats, including grassland, savanna, montane heath, and forest edge. Usually in pairs or small groups. The call is a quick series of raucous notes.
Naked-faced Barbet
Gymnobucco calvus
A dark, chunky barbet with a bald face and crown and a pale yellow bill. Overall uniform gray-brown in color with blue-gray or dark gray facial skin. Central Angolan birds have pale throats. Often encountered singly or in small groups, though large congregations can be found, especially around colonial nesting trees. Can be found nesting with other related species, from which Naked-faced Barbet differs in having no feather tufts above the bill. Voice is a sharp “tew” call, sometimes accompanied by a rattle and other harsh notes.
Sclater's Crowned-Pigeon
Goura sclaterii
An enormous pigeon of the southern lowland rainforests. Erect, mohicanlike crest is especially long at the back. Blue-gray body with maroon on shoulder and chest, up to the throat. Very large white patch can reach the edge of the wing. Has a deep-bellied appearance and twitches the tail nervously. Forages in small groups on the forest floor. Unmistakable and does not overlap with other crowned-pigeons. Call, loud 2-note booming, sounding like a beating heart.
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