Timor Flowerpecker
Dicaeum hanieli
Small and stout forest-dweller that hops and buzzes about in the canopy like a large, active insect. Note male’s iridescent dark blue back, red chest patch, and black line extending partway down the white belly. As with many other flowerpeckers, the female is considerably duller, with a red rump patch being the only patch of bright color on her otherwise gray-brown plumage. Endemic to Timor, where found in montane and foothill forests. Song is a brief, high-pitched and silvery burst of whistled notes: “tsee’di-lee’see.”
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Dicaeum hanieli
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Dicaeidae
- Genus
- Dicaeum
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Palawan Scops-Owl
Otus fuliginosus
A fairly small owl of lowland forest. Dark brown above with a white bar behind the shoulder, and paler and warmer brown below with black marks. Note the wide, shallow V-shape stretching from between the eyes out to the ends of the prominent ear tufts, and the dark facial shield incompletely bordered with white below. Eyes are deep orange. Similar to Mantanani Scops-Owl, which only occurs on small offshore islands off Palawan, but differs in eye color. Voice is a low rasping croak, “gruk grrrrrrrrr.”
African Harrier-Hawk
Polyboroides typus
A large, grayish, naked-faced hawk with broad wings. The small, bare, yellow (sometimes flushed red) face, white-banded black tail, and underwing pattern distinguish it. The immature is blotchy brown with yellow-green facial skin and barred flight feathers. Harrier-hawks are specialists, foraging on eggs and nestlings, and they have double-jointed knees which allow them to access nest holes and other confined spaces. They are often seen clumsily clambering around on cliffs and trees when foraging. Although similar to chanting-goshawks, African Harrier-Hawk’s long but small angular head, broad wings, and tail pattern are diagnostic.
Dusky Woodswallow
Artamus cyanopterus
Chunky bird with broad, triangular wings and short, decurved bill. Dark brownish-gray plumage overall, with white outer primaries distinctive in flight and at rest. Tail black with white tip broken by black at the center. Pale underwings contrast strongly with dark belly in flight. Usually in small flocks, in open woodland areas.
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