Birds of Africa

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. Bill moderately strong, pale reddish brown in adults and generally black in young birds a slight notch on the upper mandible near the tip; nostrils exposed; rictal-bristles obsolete. Wing of ten primaries; first primary more than half the length of the second one. Tail of twelve feathers, rounded and shorter than the wing. Tarsus rather short, not longer than the culmen. Sexes often similar in plumage; young streaked. An Autumn moult only. Nest cup-shaped and suspended between small branches. The family is confined to the Eastern Hemisphere and comprises some fifty species, of which eight are confined to the Ethiopian Region, and one, 0. Galbula, migrates into Europe to breed.