Black Harrier

Tiny, round, short-tailed yellow-bellied bird with a thin curved bill. Males are blue on the back and have bright bare skin around the eye in breeding plumage. Rare Madagascar endemic that is found very locally in eastern and northern rainforest at middle and high elevations. Usually in the canopy of stunted forest along ridgelines. Hyperactive nectar feeder that constantly flits from flower to flower. Call is a series of quiet and very high-pitched “tip” notes. Similar to Common Sunbird-Asity, but has brighter yellow underparts and a smaller, less curved bill. Smaller than Souimanga Sunbird, with a thinner bill and shorter tail. 

This remarkable flycatcher occurs in both rufous and white morphs, but it always has grayish underparts and a strong crest. The breeding male has ludicrous central tail feathers, twenty centimeters long, that trail like the ribbon of a rhythmic gymnast, while the female lacks the tail streamers and has a smaller crest. Singles and pairs occasionally join flocks in open woodland, riverine forest, and thickets, avoiding lowland evergreen forest. Very vocal, often giving a repeated grating “dzee-zwee” call and a sweet melodic “willie-willie-willie-wee-wooo” song. The very similar Rufous-vented Paradise-Flycatcher differs from African Paradise-Flycatcher by having a rufous undertail and a shorter crest.

Attractive warbler of shady dense understory in highland forests. Favors relatively humid pine-oak, fir, and pine-evergreen forest, where often quite skulking. Typically in pairs at low to middle levels in brushy flower banks or other cover; not usually with mixed-species feeding flocks. Sexes look alike and can appear rather drab unless the beautiful head pattern is seen: broad golden-yellow eyebrow set off by dark rusty cheeks and cap.