Lake Lufira Masked-Weaver

Small plover with a brown back and pale underparts. Distinctive head pattern, with one black stripe behind the eye and another across the forehead. Found on mudflats, on saltpans, and in open fields, sometimes far from water. Generally most common along the coast, though locally common inland. Acts like a typical plover, running and plucking food from the ground. Bold head pattern and lack of chest bands separate adults from other plovers. Plainer juveniles can be confusing, but are smaller than White-fronted and Caspian Plovers. 

Medium-sized eagle with short, rounded wings. Adult is dark brown above and white with heavy streaking and barring below. Perched birds show a prominent vertical crest. When in flight, note prominent “fingers”, black-striped white throat, and bold black banding on the flight feathers and tail. Juvenile has a pale tan head and underparts, a shorter crest, and paler black banding on the wings and tail. Pale morph Changeable Hawk-Eagle can be similar, but note present species’ more densely patterned underparts and wings, taller crest, and tan (not white) head in juveniles. Endemic to Java, where it is now largely limited to foothill and montane forests. Soars often, but also frequently perches silently in the canopy. Quiet, but occasionally gives thin yelping screams.

A small brown eagle with a slighter head and weaker beak than in larger brown eagles. A short crest gives the head a distinct squared-off look. In flight its crucifix-ilke shape is distinctive: straight-edged wings and a long straight-edged tail are most often held closed. Also occurs in pale and intermediate morphs, but dark, chocolate-brown coloration is the most common. Movements are complex, but it is mostly an intra-African migrant, breeding in the south (August to March) and occurring year-round farther north. Inhabits woodland, savanna, and farmland, hunting a broad range of vertebrate and insect prey both from perches and on the wing.