Hartert's Camaroptera
Camaroptera harterti
A small, chunky, wren-like understory warbler that often leans forward and cocks its short tail. This species has brown eyes, olive-green wings and tail, and white underparts. Found in evergreen forest understory, plantation, and thickets along the Angolan escarpment. Usually in pairs, hopping about, often low to the ground, searching for small insects. The two common vocalizations are a nasal “meehrrp” alarm call and a strident repeated snapping “strik-strik-strik-strik-strik” song. Very similar to Green-backed Camaroptera, but tail is brighter green, rather than gray or gray-green, and underparts are cleaner white, rather than grayish, especially on the breast.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Camaroptera harterti
- Authority
- Zedlitz, 1911
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Cisticolidae
- Genus
- Camaroptera
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Pileated Finch
Coryphospingus pileatus
A distinctive gray finchlike bird found at forest edges and in light woodlands and scrub. Males are mostly gray with a white throat and a black crown with a red center, which can be erected when the bird is excited. Females are brown above and paler below with weak streaks on the breast.
Eurasian Kestrel
Falco tinnunculus
Small falcon with distinctive male plumage: gray head, rusty back, gray tail with broad black tip. Female is brownish above, with barring on the back, wings, and tail. Note rather pointed wingtips (unlike rounded wings of Accipiter hawks), and distinct dark spotting on the breast. Inhabits open and lightly wooded country, farmlands, grasslands, and heathlands; often seen over grassy areas beside roads and at airports. Perches on wires and posts, and typically hunts by hovering, at times fairly high overhead. Very similar to Lesser Kestrel.
Tongan Megapode
Megapodius pritchardii
A plump, mostly ground-dwelling bird with long yellowish legs and a dark gray body with slightly browner wash on the wings and back. Head mostly dark gray, with bright orange beak and whitish crest. Good views may show blood-red bare skin around the eye and throat. Found in mature woodland with open understory. Nests on crater lake islands. Resident, with no record of vagrancy. Very vocal, most frequently heard in groups giving chorus of loud piping whistles and shrill cries. Calls are usually a staccato one-note whistle. Unmistakable, as it is the only scrubfowl in its range.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.