Copper-tailed Starling
Hylopsar cupreocauda
A small rainforest starling with a short square tail. In poor light, can look completely black, but usually shows a purple head; the rest of the body and wing are black with blue gloss. Even in bad viewing conditions, the pale eye is obvious. Found in lowland rainforest, gallery forest, and along forest edge. Often in small groups. Very similar to Purple-headed Starling, but ranges don’t overlap, and easily separated by the yellow eye. Found in the same habitat as Splendid Starling, but much smaller, with a shorter and narrower tail. The vocalizations include nasal whistles and scratchy notes.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Hylopsar cupreocauda
- Authority
- (Hartlaub, 1857)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Sturnidae
- Genus
- Hylopsar
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Trumpeter Hornbill
Bycanistes bucinator
A large, mostly black-and-white hornbill that occurs in thickets, dense woodland, and riverine and coastal forest. It can be surprisingly inconspicuous while eating large fruit in forest trees, but in flight it has noisy wingbeats and a far-carrying baby-like wailing “whaaaaaa waa waa” call. In flight note narrow white hind edges to the mostly dark wings; the similar Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill has a very broad white hind edge, and the Silvery-cheeked Hornbill has no white hind edge.
Tawny Tit-Spinetail
Sylviorthorhynchus yanacensis
Small, bright cinnamon bird with a long tail. Found at high elevations in pockets of short Polylepis forests and scrub, usually surrounded by grasslands or barren rock. Forages singly or in pairs in shrubs, calling and singing frequently; listen for high-pitched chips and twitters, as well as its song, an accelerating series of high, metallic notes.
Narina Trogon
Apaloderma narina
A spectacular, mostly iridescent-metallic-green bird, with a scarlet belly, broad yellow bill, and white under tail. The face and throat of the male are green, while the females’ are dirty gray-brown. It sits upright and still in the canopy of riverine and lowland forest, watching for insect prey, then flying fast and directly to catch it. During the breeding season, its soft, deep, throaty “huooo-huooo” call makes it much easier to find. The similar Bare-cheeked Trogon differs by having a face with a large bare yellow skin patches that extend from cheek to bill--not small blue-green spots. Bar-tailed Trogon has a heavily-barred undertail and prefers montane forest above 900 m.
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