A smaller egret, the Eastern Cattle Egret is named for its habit of stalking insects and other small prey disturbed by herds of cattle moving through and grazing in grassland habitats. Egrets will fly to a grass fire from far away in order to catch fleeing insects, and they even forage at airports, waiting at the edges of the runways for airplanes to pass and blow insects out of the grass. A worldwide phenomenon, the Eastern Cattle Egret is renowned for having colonized without human assistance three continents in just the last hundred years! This world-traveling species inhabits a wide variety of open drier, grassy habitats such as fields, pastures, and rice paddies, and so has likely benefited from agricultural disturbances. The Eastern Cattle Egret nests colonially often and is sometimes present in mixed colonies with other species of herons, cormorants, storks, and ibises.

The Black Kite is a medium-sized, primarily brown raptor. Kites are characterized by their long wings and tails, buoyant and acrobatic flight, and ability to catch food in mid-air. Black Kites are widespread and adaptable and can be found throughout portions of Africa, Europe, and Australasia. They eat small mammals, other birds, carrion, and insects. Their most notable trait is the ability to catch and eat prey while still in flight and they have been observed catching large insects fleeing from wildfires. Unlike most raptors, Black Kites are a fairly social and gregarious species and often gather in large flocks to roost and feed.

Augur Buzzards are one of the most numerous types of hawks in Africa. In the Americas, the term “buzzard” generally refers to vultures, but in the Old World, the word’s original meaning was “hawk.” Augur Buzzards are members of the Buteo genus, a group of hawks found all over the world and known for their broad wings, relatively short tails, and the ability to soar for long periods of time. Like all hawks, Augur Buzzards are strict carnivores and actively hunt a variety of animals, particularly reptiles. Augur Buzzards come in two color phases: dark and light. Dark individuals are uniformly chocolate brown, while light phase birds have a dark hood and back with a bright white chest and stomach. Both color phases have a rusty, brick-red tail, yellow legs, and dark eyes.

Lanner Falcons are strong, stocky birds with long wings and a relatively short tail, very similar to the North American Peregrine Falcon. Males and females of this species tend to look the same, but females are slightly larger. Lanner Falcons have been used in the sport of falconry for centuries, and are prized for their ability to capture other birds such as pigeons. Lanner Falcons are fast, agile flyers that use both a vertical stoop and a horizontal hunting style to pursue their prey. They can fly low over the ground at speeds of up to 90 miles per hour.

Widespread across parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia, the Eurasian Kestrel, or Common Kestrel, is a small, adaptable raptor, found in a great variety of habitats, including open or moderately wooded terrains with low shrubs, grasslands, steppes, and even subdesert. It may also occur in villages, towns, and even cities. The Eurasian Kestrel forages on small mammals, insects, and birds, and is able to see in ultraviolet light; this helps the birds to detect the urine trails around rodent burrows as they shine in an ultraviolet color in the sunlight. Nest sites for this species include natural ledges, holes in rock faces or trees, or old nests of other birds. Kestrels will also utilize nestboxes. This is the most common diurnal raptor throughout most of its range and is not considered threatened.

A large and powerful eagle of Africa, the Martial Eagle is found in sparse woodlands and other open habitats such as steppes, savannas, and shrublands. Martial Eagles are extremely powerful predators, feeding on medium-sized vertebrates which they catch after stooping from a high soar. Martial Eagles build large stick nests in the fork of a tree, and their young often stay with their parents for an entire year. Despite generally avoiding settled areas, this species is rapidly declining due to poisoning and shooting, habitat loss, and pollution, as well as collisions and electrocution associated with power lines.

The Crested Coua is found in drier habitats of the Afrotropical region, including coastal deciduous forest, savanna, spiny brushland, palms, and mangroves. The Crested Coua eats large insects, snails, small lizards, and occasionally other birds’ eggs, but also some berries, seeds, and fruits. These are collected at higher levels of the forest, mostly by walking along branches, gleaning food items as it goes; it often works its way up from the base of one tree, and upon reaching the top, flies down to the base of an adjacent tree and then repeats the process.

Native to East Africa, the Gray Crowned-Crane is featured on Uganda’s coat of arms and flag and is the country’s national bird; this bird also is a sacred symbol for Kenya, Namibia, Zambia and South Africa. The Gray Crowned-Crane is unique among the cranes in being one of only two species capable of perching in trees, owing to their having a long hind toe useful for grasping. Although this species has historically favored wetlands and open grassland or savannah, it is now found mostly in human-modified habitats, such as pastures, croplands, and ranches. Here the Gray Crowned-Crane feeds on seeds of sedges, fresh tips of grasses, crickets, locusts, and other insects and small animals. To hunt for food, the Gray Crowned-Crane stamps its feet on the ground to cause bugs to run out of the grass. This crane nests in or along the edges of their wetland homes, but young birds do not fledge for almost 100 days. The Gray Crowned-Crane has suffered a massive decline in population resulting from a plethora of impacts of human population growth and expansion of agriculture resulting in loss of wetlands, sedimentation, and contamination.

The Black Crake is a water bird found throughout sub-Saharan Africa. With its bright yellow bill, red legs, and sleek black body, this bird is among the most common and least secretive of Africa’s rail species. They are well-suited for life in a wetland habitat: their long toes help them move easily along floating vegetation, and their specially adapted bills help them hunt aquatic animals like fish, crabs, and shrimp. They build their nests in vegetation over water, and sometimes build nests that float. They have a distinctive call performed as a “duet.” The Black Crake is not globally threatened.