Black-and-gold Tanager

A fairly large bird of lowland and foothill forest. Small for a hornbill. Bill fairly short with black bands, and with bare skin around the eyes and chin. Male has pale underparts and head with a black cheek, a pale buffy tail with a black tip, and pale blue facial skin. Female is entirely black with a buffy band through the center of the tail and darker blue facial skin. Rufous Hornbill occurs in some of the same areas, but has a red bill. Samar Hornbill’s voice is a short, medium-pitched honk, reminiscent of a squeaky toy, often given in rapid series.

A small, sharp-billed warbler-like bird. Note the olive-green back, the yellow throat and undertail, and the ridiculously broad white spectacles around the eyes. Found in the Taita Hills of southeast Kenya, in montane forest, forest edge, exotic tree plantations, and lush gardens and scrub. Usually in hyperactive pairs or flocks. Separated from similar broad-ringed white-eyes by range. Somewhat similar to African Yellow and Pale White-eyes, but found at higher elevations, and eye-ring is much broader. Song is a subdued, chatty sequence of “chew” notes. Calls include a high-pitched rising rattle, chattering notes, and “chew” notes like those from the song. 

Rather chunky, social bird of humid evergreen forest and edge in tropical lowlands and foothills. Usually in small and often noisy groups (at times up to 50 birds), moving at middle to upper levels in fruiting trees; not usually with mixed-species feeding flocks. Sexes look alike, with subtly attractive plumage: mustard-yellow head and breast with black face and blue-gray belly. Calls are buzzy splutters and whistles.