Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher

Slender and drab songbird of open country. Brownish above with heavy streaking below. Distinguished from similar-looking (unrelated) buntings by thin bill and lanky appearance with long legs. Walks on the ground with jerky motions and frequently bobs tail. Breeds in tundra, while in winter and during migration, found in cultivation, moist grassland, and wetlands. Flocks are often heard as they pass overhead or flush from a barren field; listen for sharp, high-pitched call notes and look for flashing white outer tail feathers.

Relatively colorful, mid-sized, long-tailed cisticola. Note the gray-brown back with thick black streaks, rufous on the wing and cap, and whitish underparts. Found mainly in papyrus swamp and locally in other wetland habitats. Song is a quick, aggressive series of several “chyap” notes. Very similar to Winding Cisticola, and best separated by song; Carruther’s also has a less reddish panel in the wing and a mostly dark tail.

Small unobtrusive raptor. Adults have a gray body (darker above than below), and rufous thighs and eyes. The throat is white with a very thin dividing black line helping to distinguish it from the similar Bicolored Hawk. In flight, adults have distinctive rufous underwings (white in juveniles), and three pale bands on the tail. Juveniles are streaked below with barred rufous thighs. Found in the canopy of primary forests and at borders. Often seen soaring high overhead.