White-rumped Seedeater

Stocky and large-headed with a shaggy crest. Bill is long, straight, thick, and pointed. Powder blue above with white underparts and blue breast band. Females have additional rusty band across belly. Almost always solitary, perched along edges of streams, lakes, and estuaries. Flies along rivers and shorelines giving loud rattling calls. Hunts for fish by plunging headfirst into the water, either directly from a perch or hovering.

A small, active, yellow-green warbler-like bird with an obvious white eye-ring. The peach-colored underparts are diagnostic. Pairs and groups are restricted to riverine and other woodlands in semi-arid country. The song is a rambling musical warble similar to Cape White-eye’s, but drier, softer, and more muted. The Cape White-eye is similar to the Orange River White-eye, and they hybridize where they meet, but pure Cape White-eyes have gray or green underparts.

Boldly patterned black-and-red bushshrike with a yellow crown and pale eyes. The duller immature has orange underparts and a gray crown. Found in papyrus swamps, where it skulks with great skill. The male gives ringing “chonk” or “chuwee” notes, often in rapid-fire or up-and-down series. The female gives a low ratcheting call which is sometimes given in a duet alongside the male’s vocalizations. Similar to Black-headed Gonolek, but has a yellow crown and a white wingbar.