West African Batis
Batis occulta
A classically patterned batis of forest, forest edges, villages, and towns in tropical lowlands and foothills. Males have white underparts bisected by a black chest band, mostly black upperparts with a broken white eye-line, white on the nape, scalloped white and gray on the back, and a white wingbar that extends to the tip of the wings in the secondary flight feathers. The female is similar but has less of an eyebrow, a grayer crown and back, and a reddish chest band. Overlaps with several other batis species, but note West African Batis’s combination of broken eyebrow and neat chest band. Song is a high-pitched series of buzzy calls and trills interspersed with whistles, often with the same whistled call being repeated at length.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Batis occulta
- Authority
- Lawson, 1984
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Platysteiridae
- Genus
- Batis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Spotless Crake
Zapornia tabuensis
Small dark crake with red eye and red orbital ring. Upperparts dark brown, underparts blue-gray, with red legs and short black bill. Inhabits wetlands where there is dense vegetation surrounding the water. Quite skittish and often difficult to observe. A wide variety of calls include a slow, repeated "kek" and a bubbling, accelerating "motorboat" call.
Gray Silky-flycatcher
Ptiliogonys cinereus
Not a flycatcher, but related to Phainopepla, this elegant, long-tailed bird is fairly common but local in foothills and highlands. Typically perches upright, often on prominent perches. Usually seen in flocks at fruiting trees and shrubs or in flight high overhead, calling. Note the tufted crest, broken white eyering, and blue-gray (male) to dusky gray (female) plumage with variable yellow on the belly and under the tail, which, as seen from below, has a broad white band across the base.
Rufous-naped Bellbird
Aleadryas rufinucha
A medium-sized, plump bird of mid-montane forest understory. Distinctively patterned with an olive body, yellow throat, black moustache, white chest and gray face with rufous at the back of the head. Note the pale, beady eye. Some areas have a white forehead. Unique adult coloration with no similar species. Juvenile is olive above and rufous below. Voice, various piping notes, including a flat note repeated quickly like Piping Bellbird, or an upslurred one. Also rasping notes.
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