Martens's Warbler

Small swallow dark above, pale below, with white rump, reddish crown, and notched tail. Nests colonially over much of Australia. Unique "bottle" nests constructed from mud usually found under building eves, bridges, culverts, and cliffs. Call a dry buzzing "frrrtt," very different from twittering of Tree Martin.

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 small brown songbird with a long tail, often raised and fanned to reveal white outer tail feathers. Largely dull brown with a rufous flash in the wing, a white throat, and a dull buff underside. A montane species, found singly or in pairs, often within mixed-species flocks. Distinguished from Arafura Fantail by plain underside, lacking a black chest. Song recalls a toy trumpet, “cher-wer-where,” rising on the last note. Also gives agitated chattering notes, a wet “wit,” and a sharp “pip.”