I don't remember ever seeing a purple-banded sunbird (Nectarinia bifasciata) before, but we do seem to have come across one just outside our gate a couple of days ago. The considerably larger (14 cm v. 11 cm) marico sunbird (Nectarinia mariquensis) is not uncommon in Mbale, and I've often wondered if the size differential would be all that helpful in distinguishing these two species from each other in the field. They have almost identical plumages. Anyway, I was glad to notice that the purple-banded does look quite a bit smaller than the maricos that we have in the neighborhood, and its beak is shorter and appears less curved.
A few other notes from along the way...
Saw a steppe/common buzzard (Buteo buteo) on Wanale mountain Sunday, as well as a common kestrel or two (Falco tinnunculus).
Heard a buff-spotted flufftail (Sarothrura elegans) in a swampy patch near our house a few days back.
Have seen several African blue flycatchers (Elminia longicauda) out and about, and, to my particular delight, a male paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone viridis) with the gorgeous long tail streamers of his breeding plumage.
Observed a solitary bronze-tailed glossy starling (Lamprotornis chalcurus) on a utility line Monday - may have been a vagrant, since there seem to be no others around currently, and they are normally found in pairs or small flocks.
Our black / yellow-billed kites (Milvus migrans) are back in force. I watched one stoop down behind a hedge yesterday and come back up with a chick from a domestic chicken brood in its talons.
Can't remember if I posted about having a black goshawk / sparrowhawk (Accipiter melanoleucus) visible and calling in the top of a mahogany tree not far from our house a week or so back. We come across these here only occasionally.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment