Red-bellied Malimbe
Malimbus erythrogaster
A mostly red malimbe found high above the ground in lowland forests, where it probes into clumps of dead leaves and dead branches. Largely red below and black above, but black face and red crown and neck give it a collared appearance. Females are duller than males and have red throats, whereas males have black throats. Found in small groups or with mixed-species flocks, sometimes with other species of malimbe, from which it is distinguished by its wholly red belly. Songs and calls consist of dry, mechanical notes linked together into complex phrases with rasping sounds.
Identification
A mostly red malimbe found high above the ground in lowland forests, where it probes into clumps of dead leaves and dead branches. Largely red below and black above, but black face and red crown and neck give it a collared appearance. Females are duller than males and have red throats, whereas males have black throats. Found in small groups or with mixed-species flocks, sometimes with other species of malimbe, from which it is distinguished by its wholly red belly. Songs and calls consist of dry, mechanical notes linked together into complex phrases with rasping sounds.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Malimbus erythrogaster
- Authority
- Reichenow, 1893
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ploceidae
- Genus
- Malimbus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Tickell's Leaf Warbler
Phylloscopus affinis
Brown-and-yellow leaf warbler without a wingbar. Breeds in high-altitude areas, in open areas with low vegetation. Winters at lower elevations, including throughout the Indian Subcontinent south of the Himalayas, where it is most abundant in shrubbery in the northeast Indian plains and in the high Western Ghats. Resembles Sulphur-bellied Warbler, but has a yellower cheek and underparts, and shows little contrast between the eyebrow and the throat. Tickell’s spends less time on or near the ground than Sulphur-bellied, tends to flock, and often participates in mixed-species foraging flocks.
Iberian Green Woodpecker
Picus sharpei
Fairly large woodpecker with a green back, red crown, and broad whisker stripe (red in males, black in females). Yellowish rump shows mainly in slightly undulating flight. Unmistakable in most of range; note Eurasian Green Woodpecker’s black face patch in thin band of overlap. Inhabits open woodland, heathland, gardens, parks, and farmland with hedges and scattered larger trees. Unlike most woodpeckers, feeds mainly on the ground, including garden lawns, probing into anthills and moving with an odd, shuffling gait. Calls are loud, high-pitched, and somewhat raptor-like. Drums infrequently.
Papuan Babbler
Garritornis isidorei
A fairly large bird of lowland forest midstory. Rusty brown with a long tail and long, curved, yellow bill. Moves in noisy flocks searching for insects in tangles, sometimes mixing with other species including Black Cicadabird and Rusty Pitohui. Similar to the two aforementioned species, but Papuan Babbler has a longer bill. Voice, loud downward, repeated whistle “weeuuuu!” mixed with harsh rasping and chattering calls.
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