MADAGASCAR   -   OCT-NOV 2010   -   BIRDS PART 4

Ashy Cuckoo-shrike Coracina cinerea pallida Ankarafantsika NP, Boeny region, Madagascar. Female. (S6)

Crested Drongo Dicrurus forficatus forficatus Ankarafantsika NP, Boeny region, Madagascar. (S6)

Madagascar Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone mutata singetra Ankarafantsika NP, Boeny region, Madagascar. Male. Not endemic despite its name. Males of this species have two different color morphs, rufous and white. Check our the next photo.  (S6)

Madagascar Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone mutata mutata Ranomafana NP, Vatovavy-Fitovinany Region, Madagascar. Male, incubating. (S6f)

Madagascar Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone mutata singetra Ankarafantsika NP, Boeny region, Madagascar. Female. The females only come in rufous. (S6)

Pied Crow Corvus albus Hôtel Le Jardin du Roy, Isalo area, Ihorombe region, Madagascar. Also a widespread bird in sub-Saharan Africa. (S6)

Pied Crow Corvus albus Hôtel Le Jardin du Roy, Isalo area, Ihorombe region, Madagascar. (S6)

Madagascar Lark Mirafra hova Ankilibe, Toliara, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar. A common endemic, thriving in grassy, deforested areas. (S6)

Madagascar Bulbul Hypsipetes madagascariensis madagascariensis Ankarafantsika NP, Boeny region, Madagascar. A very common bird in any wooded area of Madagascar, but also found on Îles Glorieuses and Aldabra. (S6)

Madagascar Brush-Warbler Nesillas typica typica Mananara Lodge, Anjozorobe, Analamanga region, Madagascar. Not endemic; it also occurs on Mohéli in the Comoros. (S6)

Subdesert Brush-Warbler Nesillas lantzii Ifaty, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar. This species is endemic to SW Madagacar where it is quite common. (S6)

White-throated Oxylabes Oxylabes madagascariensis Masoala NP, Analanjirofo region, Madagascar. A skulker in humif forest understory, endemic to eastern Madagascar. This, as well as the next six species in this gallery are part of the newly erected family, the Bernieridae (Malagasy Warblers), which is endemic to Madagacar. (S6f)

Long-billed Bernieria Bernieria madagascariensis inceleber Ankarafantsika NP, Boeny region, Madagascar. A common forest bird throughout Madagacar. It used to be called a greenbul and placed in the bulbul family Pycnonotidae. (S6)

Cryptic Warbler Cryptosylvicola randrianasoloi Ranomafana NP, Vatovavy-Fitovinany Region, Madagascar. This well-named species was completely overlooked until its discovery in 1992. It was described and placed in a monotypic genus in 1996. It's restricted to montane rainforest in eastern Madagascar. (S6)

Thamnornis Thamnornis chloropetoides Ifaty, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar. Another odd monotypic genus, endemic to spiny forest of SW Madagascar. It used to be considered an Old World Warbler (Sylviidae) before being transfered to the new Bernieridae. (S6)

Yellow-browed Oxylabes Crossleyia xanthophrys Mananara Lodge, Anjozorobe, Analamanga region, Madagascar. A very skulking species found in dense understory of the highlands of eastern Madagascar. It's now placed in a monotypic genus, and a new and more appropriate name for it is "Madagascar Yellowbrow". (S6)

Spectacled Tetraka Xanthomixis zosterops zosterops Masoala NP, Analanjirofo region, Madagascar. Restrcited to forests of Madagascar, where it is often common. Formerly considered a bulbul (Pycnonotidae) and called Spectacled Greenbul, (S6f)

Appert's Tetraka Xanthomixis apperti Zombitse NP, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar. Another bird that used to be considered a bulbul, and called Appert's Greenbul. It is threatened and has a highly restricted range in deciduous forest in SW Madagacar. (S6)

Common Jery Neomixis tenella debilis Ifaty, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar. Jeries (Neomixis) are endemic to Madagascar. They occur in all wooded areas of the country and are generally very common. They are currently placed in the cisticola family (Cisticolidae). (S6)

Common Jery Neomixis tenella (ssp?) Ankarafantsika NP, Boeny region, Madagascar. The local guide spotted this family sleeping near the side of the highway. (S6f)

Green Jery Neomixis viridis delacouri Mananara Lodge, Anjozorobe, Analamanga region, Madagascar. The palest jery, and the only one restricted to the eastern rainforests. (S6)

Stripe-throated Jery Neomixis striatigula pallidior Ifaty, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar. This was possibly a young bird as it was not very yellow below. They can look a lot like Common Jery N. Tenella, but have a thicker base to the bill and a different song. (S6)

Madagascar Cisticola Cisticola cherina Nosy Ve, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagacar. A non-forest bird that has thrived in the wake of the environmental destruction on Madagascar. It also occurs on Aldabra. (S6)

Madagascar Magpie-Robin Copsychus albospecularis pica Ankarafantsika NP, Boeny region, Madagascar. Male. Endemic to Madagascar, where it is common in wooded areas. One of the other subspecies has all black underparts. (S6)

Benson's Rock-Thrush Monticola bensoni Hôtel Le Relais de la Reine, Isalo area, Ihorombe region, Madagascar. Male. Endemic to rocky areas in south-central Madagascar, however there is evidence to suggest that it should be lumped with the Forest Rock-Thrush M. sharpei of the eastern rainforests. (S6)

Littoral Rock-Thrush Monticola imerina Anakao, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagacar. Male. Endemic to coastal scrub of SW Madagascar. (S6)

Madagascar White-eye Zosterops maderaspatanus maderaspatanus Ankarafantsika NP, Boeny region, Madagascar. The only white-eye in Madagascar. Another bird with a misleading name, since it also occurs on many of the other West Indian Ocean Islands. (S6)

Madagascar Starling Saroglossa aurata Ranomafana NP, Vatovavy-Fitovinany Region, Madagascar. This one is endemic to Madagascar, and found only in the eastern rainforests. (S6)

Souimanga Sunbird Cinnyris souimanga apolis Ifaty, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar. Male. An abundant bird in Madagascar. (S6)

Souimanga Sunbird Cinnyris souimanga souimanga Masoala NP, Analanjirofo region, Madagascar. Female. (S6f)

Madagascar Wagtail Motacilla flaviventris Andasibe Reserve (Perinet), Atsinanana region, Madagascar. A common endemic, found in most non-forest habitats, especially near water. (S6)

Nelicourvi Weaver Ploceus nelicourvi Mananara Lodge, Anjozorobe, Analamanga region, Madagascar. This weaver is endemic to the eastern rainforests of Madagascar. The name apparently comes from a Tamil word for a finch or waxbill. (S6f)

Sakalava Weaver Ploceus sakalava minor Antsokay Botanical Garden, Toliara, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar. Male. This species replaces Nelicourvi in the drier western forests. (S6)

Sakalava Weaver Ploceus sakalava Antsokay Botanical Garden, Toliara, Atsimo-Andrefana region, Madagascar. Female. (S6)

Red Fody Foudia madagascariensis Mananara Lodge, Anjozorobe, Analamanga region, Madagascar. Male. One of the most common and widespread birds in Madagacar, occuring from urban areas all the way to rainforest. It is interbreeding with the endemic Forest Fody F. omissa, to the point where it is hard to find pureblood Forest Fodies anymore. (S6)

Madagascar Munia Lonchura nana Mananara Lodge, Anjozorobe, Analamanga region, Madagascar. The only estrilid finch on the island, and it's endemic. It occurs in open country, but is not particularly common. (S6)