African Cuckoo-Hawk

Common large duck of lakes, ponds, wet fields, and estuaries. Dark brown overall, with a pale head marked by a whitish eyebrow and two black stripes on the face. Namesake yellow bill spot is visible even from a good distance. White underwings contrast strongly with dark body in flight. Highly adaptable and quite tame, foraging in city parks and small ponds close to human settlements.

Dull brownish seedeater with a pale eyebrow and underparts. Found in woodland, scrub, and fynbos. Often in small flocks. Call is a whistled “tsee-weet”. Song is a cheerful and energetic mix of repeated notes. Similar to White-throated Canary but shows a long white eyebrow and a brown rather than yellowish rump. Also similar to Black-eared Seedeater but has a browner back, more subdued black ear markings, and less streaking on the breast.

Chunky, short-tailed, flat-headed bird patterned in green and black. Male has black head and breast, pale yellow belly with bold dark barring, and mossy green upperparts with bold pale spotting on the wing. Female is similar but has a green head with barring all the way up the throat. On both sexes, note red bill and legs and pale eye varying from orange to gray to whitish. Fairly common in stunted forested habitats in the upper subtropical and temperate zone in the Andes. Sluggish; perches quietly in the middle levels of the forest, sometimes following a mixed-species flock. May be seen singly or in pairs, but several can gather around a fruiting tree. Listen for super high-pitched calls.