Gray-winged Robin-Chat

A chunky, short-tailed, long-billed weaver of dry country. Breeding males are mostly yellow with a black face mask, a pale eye, and a heavily streaked back. Females, non-breeding males, and juveniles are much duller, brownish-olive overall with a pale eye. Found locally in open savanna, often in small flocks. Superficially similar to the pale-eyed Lesser Masked-Weaver, but much chunkier and larger-billed, with a streakier back. Vocalizations are typical of weavers: “chek” notes and a squealing, sizzling “radio static” song. 

A pretty and distinctive bird that always lacks the long tail streamers possessed by some paradise-flycatchers. Note the rufous back and tail and the gray underparts. Males and females differ slightly: males have a black cap and a blue eye-ring, whereas females have a dark-gray cap without a distinctive eye-ring. Fairly common on Reunion in all types of humid forest. Rare on Mauritius in remnant rainforest patches. Calls include a tearing “sree-sreeet” and an agitated twittering. The song is a long musical series of “twee” notes.

Gorgeous little bird with a small range in the Marañon Valley of northwestern Peru and adjacent border areas of Ecuador (south of Zumba). Note the black mask, white eyebrow and throat, rich chestnut underparts, and white edges to wing feathers. Similar to Elegant Crescentchest, but wings lack chestnut patches and are more strongly marked with white; ranges do not overlap. Marañon Crescentchest inhabits arid scrub where it stays low, often on the ground. Typical song is a series of 20 or more evenly spaced clicks.