Golden Bowerbird

A medium-sized typical ‘double-collared’ sunbird with a long bill. Male has a very broad red breast band, bluish-violet rump patch, and a dusky belly. Female is dull gray-brown. Pairs and singles are common but extremely local in highland forests and thicket edges, restricted to distinct regions that perhaps represent three separate species: the Angolan scarp; Nyika Plateau of Malawi; and the Eastern Arc, Tanzania. Larger, with a broader red breast band on the male, than either Eastern Miombo or Forest Double-collared sunbirds; the latter also has an olive (not dusky) belly. Has a typical jumbled sunbird song.

Huge, long-tailed, long-legged bird. Rufous belly and blue-and-pink bare facial skin. Found locally in dry deciduous forest, gallery forest, and spiny forest at low and middle elevations in west and southwest Madagascar. Usually found walking along the forest floor, but will ascend to thick spots in the canopy and mid-story, especially when calling. Sometimes shy, but sometimes much more approachable than typical couas. Most common vocalization is a loud “kwaaa” followed by several lower “ku” notes. Very similar to Coquerel’s Coua, but much larger, with pink facial skin. Similar to Red-capped Coua, but much larger, with a rufous belly. 

Tiny gray and white bird with cocked tail. Local in dry tropical scrub of northern Yucatan Peninsula. Male has a black cap, solid in breeding season, but with narrow white eyebrow in non-breeding season. Female has gray cap with narrow white eyebrow year-round. Told from Blue-gray Gnatcatcher by face pattern: Blue-gray has a white eyering, not a white brow.