Birdsong field guide
Black Scimitarbill
Rhinopomastus aterrimus
A slender, glossy black bird with a distinctly curved bill, belonging to the wood-hoopoe family and found across the African savannas.
What it sounds like
A series of high-pitched, melancholic whistling notes often rendered as 'pui-pui-pui-pui'.
Field notes
- It is distinguished from the similar Common Scimitarbill by its entirely black plumage, lacking white spots on the wings and tail.
- The bird uses its specialized, sickle-shaped bill to extract larvae and insects from deep within tree bark crevices.
- Unlike the highly social Green Wood-hoopoe, the Black Scimitarbill is usually observed alone or in pairs.
- It is a secondary cavity nester, meaning it occupies abandoned holes made by woodpeckers or barbets.
- Its flight is characteristically floppy and undulating, typical of the Phoeniculidae family.
Habitat
Dry savannas, broadleaf woodlands, and arid thorn scrubs.
Range
Sub-Saharan Africa, stretching in a broad belt from Senegal and Guinea east to Ethiopia and south to Angola.
Similar & commonly confused birds
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