White Helmet-shrike Prionops plumatus

White-crested Helmetshrike Prionops plumatus
(aka White Helmet-shrike)

White Helmet-shrike, Shai Hills, Ghana, May 2011 - click for larger image

Ghana and Ethiopia

The White-crested Helmetshrike is distributed in Africa south of the Sahara except in the Congo Basin and most of South Africa. See the distribution map at Birdlife International. It is found mainly in wooded savanna where it forms noisy flocks.

White Helmet-shrike, Awash Falls, Ethiopia, January 2016 - click for larger image

It has a long white crest, a yellow wattle around the eye and, in flight, two white bands across the wings.

Photo 1, taken in Ghana shows the nominate sub-species while photos 2 and 3, taken in Ethiopia, show the sub-species P. p. cristatus which has a short, forward-curving crest and does not show white on the wing at rest.

White Helmet-shrike, Sof Omar, Ehiopia, January 2016 - click for larger image

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