Little Slaty Flycatcher

Endemic to the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. Medium-sized finch with a strong and heavy bill, broken white eyering, and bold white wing-bars. Male is a striking dark blue-gray while female is brown-gray. Largely restricted to montane pine forests. Song is a repetitive, accelerating series; call is a quiet, rising “weep.”

Nest parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of Jameson’s Firefinch. Breeding males are glossy purplish-black, with a pale brownish panel in the wings, while females and non-breeding males are streaky and brown on the back and pale below, with a bold facial pattern. The bill is whitish and the legs very pale pink. Found in forest edge, cultivation, thick woodland, and scrub. Mimics the vocalizations of its host firefinches: a fast trill. Extremely similar to Variable Indigobird. In South Africa, separated by its pale pinkish legs. Elsewhere, breeding males probably slightly more glossy but only separated with certainty by hearing mimicked vocalizations of host species.

A round-bodied and short-tailed rail with long pink legs. Mostly chestnut above and black below with white barring. Almost flightless. Prefers damp thick forest and mountain valleys, but also occurs in swampy grass and agricultural areas. Similar to Pale-vented Bush-Hen and Buff-banded Rail, but differs from both in its black throat with white barring, and from Buff-banded by its lack of a prominent white eyebrow. Vocally poorly known, but reported to give wheezing nasal barks and screams.