Green-fronted Hummingbird

Small, greenish-brown piculet. Light olive brown, with horizontal barring on the breast changing to vertical streaking on the belly, and a black-and-white speckled crown. Males have a yellow forehead patch. Forages singly or in pairs around the midstory and canopy of secondary rainforest, sometimes joining mixed-species flocks with tanagers and other species. Its song is a high, two- or three-note “sweet, sweet,” similar to the songs of other piculets.

Although it is in a different family from the treecreepers, this species has typical creeper structure and behavior. The intricately spotted and barred plumage is gray-brown and white. Generally uncommon and local in a variety of moist woodland types, including miombo and Guinea savanna. Creeps its way up a tree, then flies down to start up another tree. The song is a quiet, high-pitched, up-and-down series of “seet” calls.

An attractive medium-sized woodpecker with an olive-green back and spotted pale underparts. Males have a red crown, nape, and moustache streak, while females have a black crown, a red nape, and a black-and-white moustache streak. Both sexes have a streaked black patch behind the eye. Found in savanna and woodland, including miombo. Very similar to Bennett’s Woodpecker, but there is little overlap in range; note Reichenow’s darker face. Females are further distinguished by their lack of brown cheek and throat patches. Fairly similar to Golden-tailed and Mombasa Woodpeckers, but distinguished by the spotted rather than striped breast. The vocalizations include burry nasal churring and whooping notes, often given by a group in chorus.