Little Slaty Flycatcher

A large, sturdy olive-gray and yellow bushshrike with a distinctive black chest band that arcs up to the bill base, forming a broad necklace. In flight the dark tail has striking yellow tips. The juvenile is dull and lacks the chest band. Pairs are bold in shrubby and open country, where they forage low in bushes or grass clumps, hopping on open ground or running between clumps looking for invertebrates. The species has a varied and complex repertoire of songs and calls, the most characteristic of which is a duetted onomatopoeic “bok-mak-ie-rie,” often delivered from a conspicuous perch.

A medium-sized bird of lowland and foothill forest and edge with a very long curved bill. Has a preference for banana plants. Grayish on the head and back with olive-green wings, a pale gray throat and chest, and a pale yellow belly. Note the yellow eye-ring and white tips to the undertail. Somewhat similar to Naked-faced Spiderhunter, but smaller and paler. Also similar to females of several sunbird species, but larger and longer-billed. Voice includes a sharp, nasal “rek!”

A small, compact, finch-like sociable lark that can be both resident and nomadic, although movements are poorly understood. The sexes differ in plumage: the distinctive male has a tawny crown and nape, bold pale ear-patches, and otherwise dark face and throat that stretch as a line down the belly to the vent; the dull streaky female has a buffy eyebrow and a dark breast and belly patch. Immature is similar to the female. Small-to-medium-size flocks prefer semi-arid grassland and bare fields. Compare to Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark, in which both sexes are darker and more contrasting than Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark.