Banded Wattle-eye
Platysteira laticincta
A cute and dumpy black and white flycatcher-like bird with striking red eye-wattles. The sexes differ: male has a broad black chest band and white throat; female has black chest and throat with only a small white chin patch. Juvenile browner, with indistinct eye-wattles. Pairs are resident, flitting around the middle canopy of primary and secondary montane evergreen forest. Restricted to the highlands of western Cameroon, where it is an endangered species. Calls include a repeated grating “chhrrt-er-cheert-cheert” interspersed with clicks, buzzing notes, and wing-flitting noises, similar to other wattle-eyes. Black-throated Wattle-eye is similar to Banded, but prefers woodland and has a white wingbar.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Platysteira laticincta
- Authority
- Bates, GL, 1926
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Platysteiridae
- Genus
- Platysteira
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Cardinal Quelea
Quelea cardinalis
The red head of the breeding male is distinctive. Non-breeding male and female are nondescript streaky brown birds with buffy eyebrows. Found in moist, grassy habitats, where it often appears after recent rain. Most records are of territorial breeding males. Becomes inconspicuous when not breeding, mixing with flocks of other weavers and seedeaters. The call is a rough “chyet” and the song is an accelerating series of annoyed-sounding notes. Breeding male very similar to breeding male Red-headed Quelea, but has less red on the nape and more on the breast, for a more cleanly “hooded” look.
Mexican Whip-poor-will
Antrostomus arizonae
Cryptic nightbird, more often heard than seen. Listen for namesake song, a whistled "whip-poor-WILL," repeated endlessly. Rolling and more trilled than Eastern Whip-poor-will song. Found in forests in foothills and canyons, often with a mixture of pines and deciduous trees, and open areas nearby for foraging. Forages at night from the ground for flying insects. Intricately patterned with gray, brown, and black. Similar to Common Poorwill but with longer tail, different voice, and different habitat. Eastern and Mexican Whip-poor-wills were recently split into separate species; they differ mainly in voice and do not overlap in range.
Sjöstedt's Owlet
Glaucidium sjostedti
A small owlet of lowland and foothill forest interior with intricate barring patterns over most of its body, including the buff-and-black underparts, the gray-and-white head, the rufous back, and the black-and-white wings and tail. Primarily nocturnal, but sometimes calls around first light. Distinctive song is a series of 4-8 trilled hoots.
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