Red-capped Crombec

Warm brown bird with buffy streaks on head and breast; hitches up tree trunks. Generally longer tailed and longer billed than a woodpecker. Very similar to many other species of woodcreepers. Focus on bill: long, fairly thick, and almost straight; generally pale grayish with fleshy tones, but darker on top edge. Listen for song, a long series of clear whistled notes fading slightly at the end. Found in wooded habitats, often in more open forest, edge, or second growth.

Tiny brown bird with a black bib. Juveniles are plain brown, but are usually seen with adults. Madagascar endemic that is found in all open habitats, including grassland, savannah, scrub, gardens, villages, marsh, and openings in the forest. Almost always in flocks that are usually small, but which sometimes contain dozens of birds. Call is a quiet “te-teuwt,” given frequently in flight, often by a chorus of birds in a flock. Even smaller than Madagascar Cisticola, with a black bib, no streaking, and a thicker bill.

A nest parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of African and Black-bellied Firefinches and Brown and Dybowski's Twinspots. Breeding males are glossy black with blue iridescence and a pale brownish panel in the wings. Females and non-breeding males are streaky and brown on the back and pale below, with a bold facial pattern. The bill is whitish and the legs very pale purplish. Found locally in lush woodland, savanna, and cultivated areas. Given current knowledge, can only be confidently identified by mimicked vocalizations. Each male parasitizes only one of the four host species and imitates its vocalizations, often mixing them into a scratchy jumble of high-pitched notes.