Mystery Bird: Fischer's Sparrow-Lark, Eremopterix leucopareia

This one is almost definitely a Sociable Weaver. I had it wrong before on the last bird but this one for sure. Black feathers on face, beak shape, overall size, reddish feathers on top of head.

It looks like a weaver of some kind; I saw a picture of a Sociable weaver once, and this bird looks almost identical to it. Then again, the only african bird that I really know is Gray parrot, so this bird could be anything.

new to birding, but given the shape of the body, beak and general coloration (as well as location) I am guessing chestnut backed sparrow weaver.

clearly its a bird!

a sparrow :)

Given that this was taken in Tanzania, it's highly unlikely to be a sociable weaver, which is restricted to Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

It looks extremely similar to this bird, so I'm guessing it's some sort of sparrow-lark.

It was apparently taken in Tanzania, so that leaves out the black-crowned, ashy-crowned, grey-backed and black-eared sparrow-larks. Which leaves us with 2 species, the chestnut-backed sparrow-lark (Eremopterix leucotis) and Fischer's sparrow-lark (E. leucopareia).

It doesn't have the deep brown plumage of the chestnut-backed, and there isn't a lot of black on the head, so it's not a chestnut-backed. It can't be a stray chestnut-headed because well, it lacks the dark brown crown. Indeed, in terms of the size and shape of the dark facial band and the pale brown body plumage, it looks most like a Fischer's sparrow-lark.

HI:
I vote for Fischer's Sparrow-Lark too! The solid chestnut-brown crown of the male eliminates all other sparrow-larks in the region.

Hai-Ren hit the nail on the head. It is a Fischer's Sparrowlark (Eremopterix leucopareia). Sociable Weaver has black only on the flanks, chin and lores, with some scaly-tipped black feathers on the nape. The underparts are otherwise fairly white to whitish, and the cap tawny. It is found in southern, not eastern, Africa.

Oh I give up, I am bird-illiterate.