African Black Duck

This handsome little flycatcher has the endearing habit of fanning its tail and flicking its wings when agitated. The male’s long slender white eyebrows and orange breast make him unmistakable; wintering male Mugimaki Flycatchers may cause some confusion, but that species has a smaller, block-like eyebrow patch and a broader, shorter white wing patch. Females are brown above and whitish below with an orange chest and rufous tail; her combination of plain brown wings, warm-toned tail, and a fairly uniform head pattern separate her from female Snowy-browed and Mugimaki Flycatchers. Female “blue flycatchers” can be similar, but they are more slender and have proportionally longer bills. Found in foothill and montane forests, where it forages in dense low thickets, typically singly or in pairs. Song is a brief 3–4-note phrase of very high, thin notes: “tsee-a-tsee-tsee”, or “tsee-ah-tsee”.

A long, slender honeyeater of upper montane forest and shrubland. All black with a long tail, long, thin, slightly curved bill and a blue eye-ring with a small red spot behind. Forages singly at all levels in the vegetation and often cocks its tail. Similar to Short-bearded and Long-bearded Honeyeaters, but Sooty Melidectes is smaller and lacks the white beard. Call, harsh rasping notes.

A large bird of lowland and foothill forest and edge. Male has a black breast and white and yellow plumes which he raises above his back during his display, in which he variably hops about and flaps his wings, then holds them out still. May overlap slightly with Lesser and Emperor birds-of-paradise but male Greater is larger and lacks a yellow back. Female Greater is distinguished from other species by its all brown body. Male gives a typical, repeated nasal squawk.