Red-Wing Starling
Onychognathus morio (Genus: onychognathus, Greek onukhos = a fingernail or claw + gnathos = jaw or mouth i.e. a bill resembling a claw or nail; Species: morio Greek =…
Tawny-flanked Prinia
Prinia subflava (Genus: Prinia, Javanese i.e. the name for these birds; Species: subflava, Latin = almost yellow) Timba (Shona - generic for all small cisticolas) …
Dark Chanting Goshawk (& immature bird plumage)
Melierax metabates (Genus: Melierax, Greek = melodious hawk; species: metabates, Latin = changed i.e. presumably from the similar Pale Chanting Goshawk Melierax canorus [Latin = musical,…
African Paradise Flycatcher
Terpsiphone viridis (Genus: Terpsiphone, Greek = delightful voice; Species, viridis, Latin = green - presumably because of the greenish-tinged head) Kateredemu, zvigone (Shona), Tchitrec d'Afrique(French),…
Miombo Double-collared Sunbird
Cinnyris manoensis (Genus: Cinnyris, Greek cinnyris = shining; Species: manoensis = place name, Mano, in SW Tanzania; "miombo" is the name of a certain kind of savanna vegetation…
Pin-tailed Whydah
(Interestingly, the name 'whydah' is derived from a small town named 'Ouidah' on the coast of the ancient kingdom of 'Whydah'…
Lizard Buzzard
Lizard BuzzardKaupifalco monogrammicus (Genus: Kaupifalco, after Johann Jakob von Kaup [1803-1873], German zoologist and author; Species: monogrammicus, Latin = mono, single; grammicus = mark i.e. with a single mark, signed,…
Cardinal Woodpecker
Dendropicos fuscescens (dendro, Greek = tree, picos, Greek = pecker; fuscescens, Latin = becoming brown) Hohodza, chingogogo, chigogodza (Shona); Pic cardinal (French); Pica-pau-cardeal (Portuguese)Drumming: http://www.xeno-canto.org/173496Call: http://www.xeno-canto.org/280247 I have seen…
African Palm Swift
Cypsiurus parvus (cypsiurus: from kupselos, Latin = a kind of swallow, plus ouros, Greek = tailed; parvus: Latin = small) Nyenganyenga, mherepere (Shona = swallow, similar to but smaller than a swift); …
Kurrichane Thrush
Turdus libonyana (Genus: Turdus, Latin = thrush; species: lebonyana = a Tswana personal name) Merle kurrichane (French), Tordo-chicharrio (Portuguese) Alarm call: http://www.xeno-canto.org/311704 ; Song: http://www.xeno-canto.org/280793 This picture, taken I fancy, in the…
