Common African Bird Calls – Banded Martin to Burchell’s Coucal

See and hear the calls of the following common African Bird Species:

Banded Martin | Barn Owl | Bar-throated Apalis | Black Cuckoo | Black Cuckooshrike | Black Verreaux’s Eagle | Black Korhaan | Black Sawing Swallow | Black Sparrowhawk | Black or Amethyst Sunbird | Black Widowfinch / Dusky Indigobird | Black-bellied Starling | Black-chested Snake Eagle | Black-Collared Barbet | Blackheaded Oriole | Black-Winged Kite | Blue Korhaan | Blue-Billed Firefinch | Blue-Mantled Crested Flycatcher | Bokmakierie (Shrike) | Booted Eagle | Bronze Mannikin | Brown Scrub Robin | Brown-Throated Martin | Brown-Hooded Kingfisher | Bully Canary | Burchell’s Coucal

Banded Martin: The banded martin or banded sand martin (Neophedina cincta) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae that is endemic to Africa. It is the only species placed in the genus Neophedina.

Bar-throated Apalis: The bar-throated apalis (Apalis thoracica) is a small African passerine bird belonging to the genus Apalis of the family Cisticolidae. It is native to the eastern and southern Afrotropics.

Barn Owl: Barn-owls are a wide-ranging family, although they are absent from northern North America, Saharan Africa, and large parts of Asia. They live in a wide range of habitats from deserts to forests, and from temperate latitudes to the tropics. Within these habitats, they live near agricultural areas with high amounts of human activity. The majority of the 20 living species of barn-owls are poorly known. Some, like the red owl, have barely been seen or studied since their discovery, in contrast to the common barn-owl, which is one of the best-known owl species in the world. However, some subspecies of the common barn-owl possibly deserve to be separate species, but are very poorly known.

Black or Amethyst Sunbird: The amethyst sunbird, also called the black sunbird (Chalcomitra amethystina), is a species of passerine bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is native to the Afrotropics, mostly south of the equator. They are commonly found in well-watered habitats, and undertake seasonal movements to visit flowering woodlands. The demise of some woodlands have impacted their numbers locally, but their range has also expanded along with the spread of wooded gardens.

Black Cuckoo: The black cuckoo (Cuculus clamosus) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. The species is distributed widely across sub-Saharan Africa. There are two subspecies. This cuckoo has a very wide range and is quite common so it is classified as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Black Cuckooshrike: The black cuckooshrike (Campephaga flava) is a species of bird in the cuckooshrike family Campephagidae. The species is closely related to Petit’s cuckooshrike and the red-shouldered cuckooshrike, and forms a superspecies with them. It is also known as the African black cuckooshrike.

Black Korhaan: The southern black korhaan (Afrotis afra), also known as the black bustard, is a species of bird in the bustard family, Otididae. This small bustard is found in southwestern South Africa, from Namaqualand, south to Cape Town and east to Makhanda. It prefers semi-arid habitats such as grasslands, shrublands and savannas where it can easily prey on ground-dwelling arthropods and eat seeds. It reproduces yearly in the spring and will lay about one or two eggs per breeding season.

Black Sawing Swallow: The black saw-wing (Psalidoprocne pristoptera), also known as the blue saw-wing or black rough-winged swallow, is a small passerine bird in the swallow family.

Black Sparrowhawk: The black sparrowhawk (Accipiter melanoleucus), sometimes known as the black goshawk or great sparrowhawk, is the largest species of True hawk in Africa. It occurs mainly in forest and non-desert areas south of the Sahara, particularly where there are large trees suitable for nesting; favored habitat includes suburban and human-altered landscapes. It preys predominantly on birds of moderate size, such as pigeons and doves, in suburban areas.

Black Verreaux’s Eagle: Verreaux’s eagle (Aquila verreauxii) is a large, mostly African, bird of prey. It is also called the black eagle, especially in southern Africa, not to be confused with the Indian black eagle (Ictinaetus malayensis), which lives far to the east in Asia. It lives in hilly and mountainous regions of southern and eastern Africa (extending marginally into Chad), and very locally in West Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the southern Middle East.

Black Widowfinch / Dusky Indigobird: The dusky indigobird, variable indigobird, or black widowfinch (Vidua funerea) is a species of bird in the family Viduidae. It is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitat is moist savanna.

Black-bellied Starling: The black-bellied starling (Notopholia corusca) is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in Eswatini, Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.

Black-chested Snake Eagle: The black-chested snake eagle or black-breasted snake eagle (Circaetus pectoralis) is a large African bird of prey of the family Accipitridae. It resembles other snake eagles and was formerly considered conspecific with the short-toed and Beaudouin’s snake eagles, to which it is closely related.

Black-Collared Barbet: The black-collared barbet (Lybius torquatus) is a species of bird in the family Lybiidae which is native to sub-Saharan Africa. Indigenous names include Rooikophoutkapper in Afrikaans, isiKhulukhulu and isiQonQotho in Zulu, and Isinagogo in Xhosa.

Blackheaded Oriole: The black-headed oriole (Oriolus larvatus) is a species of bird in the family Oriolidae. It is found in Africa and has a very striking appearance with a bright yellow body, contrasting black head and flesh-coloured beak.

Black-Winged Kite: The black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus), also known as the black-shouldered kite (not to be confused with the closely-related Australian species of the same name), is a small diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae best known for its habit of hovering over open grasslands in the manner of the much smaller kestrels. This Palearctic and Afrotropical species was sometimes combined with the Australian black-shouldered kite (Elanus axillaris) and the white-tailed kite (Elanus leucurus) of North and South America which together form a superspecies. This kite is distinctive, with long wings; white, grey and black plumage; and owl-like forward-facing eyes with red irises.

Blue Korhaan: The blue korhaan or blue bustard (Eupodotis caerulescens) is a species of bird in the family Otididae which is native to South Africa. Its call is a series of frog-like croaks, usually uttered in flight. Its natural habitat is plateau grassland, dry shrubland, arable land and pastureland. Its preferred habitat is one with short grassland and flat topography.

Blue-Billed Firefinch: The African firefinch (Lagonosticta rubricata), also called the blue-billed firefinch, is a common species of estrildid finch found in many parts of Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 5,400,000 km2

Blue-Mantled Crested Flycatcher: The blue-mantled crested flycatcher or African crested flycatcher (Trochocercus cyanomelas) is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae found in eastern and south-eastern Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Bokmakierie (Shrike): The bokmakierie (Telophorus zeylonus) is a bushshrike. This family of passerine birds is closely related to the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, and was once included in that group. This species is endemic to southern Africa, mainly in South Africa and Namibia, with an isolated population in the mountains of eastern Zimbabwe and western Mozambique.

Booted Eagle: The booted eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus, also classified as Aquila pennata) is a medium-sized mostly migratory bird of prey with a wide distribution in the Palearctic and southern Asia, wintering in the tropics of Africa and Asia, with a small, disjunct breeding population in south-western Africa. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae.

Bronze Mannikin: The bronze mannikin or bronze munia (Spermestes cucullata) is a small passerine (i.e. perching) bird of the Afrotropics. This very social estrildid finch is an uncommon to locally abundant bird in much of Africa south of the Sahara Desert, where it is resident, nomadic or irruptive in mesic savanna or forest margin habitats. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 8,100,000 km2. It is the smallest and most widespread of four munia species on the African mainland, the other being black-and-white, red-backed and magpie mannikin. It co-occurs with the Madagascar mannikin on the Comoro Islands, and was introduced to Puerto Rico. Especially in the West Africa, it is considered a pest in grain and rice fields. It is locally trapped for the pet bird trade.

Brown Scrub Robin: The brown scrub robin (Cercotrichas signata) is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Eswatini, Mozambique and, South Africa. Its natural habitat is subtropical dry or moist forests.

Brown-Hooded Kingfisher: The brown-hooded kingfisher (Halcyon albiventris) is a species of bird in the subfamily Halcyoninae, the tree kingfishers. It has a brown head and blackish and turquoise wings. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa, living in woodland, scrubland, forest edges, and also suburban areas. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as being of least concern.

Brown-Throated Martin: The brown-throated martin or brown-throated sand martin (Riparia paludicola) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It was first formally described as Hirundo paludicola by French ornithologist Louis Vieillot in 1817 in his Nouveau Dictionnaire d’Histoire Naturelle. It was formerly regarded as conspecific with the grey-throated martin (R. chinensis) under the name “plain martin”. It has a wide range in Africa. It is a partially migratory species, with some populations making seasonal movements. It is usually associated closely with water as its specific epithet paludicola suggests.

Bully Canary: The brimstone canary or bully canary (Crithagra sulphurata) is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is a resident breeder in central and southern Africa. This species is found in open, lightly wooded habitats, such as hillsides with trees or scrub and forest edges. In South Africa it occurs mainly in coastal areas, inhabiting coastal bush, shrubs along streams, gardens, and areas with rank vegetation. It is not truly migratory, but undertakes some seasonal movements.

Burchell’s Coucal: Burchell’s coucal (Centropus burchellii) is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in the southeastern parts of sub-Saharan Africa. It inhabits areas with thick cover afforded by rank undergrowth and scrub, including in suitable coastal regions. Common names include gewone vleiloerie in Afrikaans and umGugwane in Zulu. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the white-browed coucal, which replaces it to the north and west. The juvenile plumages and calls of the two taxa are hardly distinguishable. The species is named after the British naturalist William John Burchell.