Flores Sea Sunbird
Cinnyris teysmanni
Tiny and active sunbird of forest edges and open woodlands, endemic to a string of Flores Sea islands from Tanahjampea east to Kalaotoa and Madu. Male is dark gray-brown above, with an extensive iridescent blue-black throat; if seen well, note a dark coppery belt dividing the iridescent throat from the black belly. Female is olive above, with a bright yellow eyebrow and underparts. In both sexes, note white tail edges that are flared out in flight. Gives a buzzily squeaky “bzeet” call, as well as a strident song with a similar cadence. Formerly grouped with other, closely related species under “Olive-backed Sunbird.”
Identification
The Flores Sea sunbird (Cinnyris teysmanni) is a species of bird in the sunbird family Nectariniidae that is found on several small islands in the Flores Sea. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the olive-backed sunbird, now renamed the garden sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis).
Taxonomy
Genus: Cinnyris; Family: Nectariniidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Cinnyris teysmanni
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Nectariniidae
- Genus
- Cinnyris
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Sulawesi White-eye
Zosterops consobrinorum
A small songbird with a bold white eye-ring, dark eyes, a green back and forehead, a yellow throat and base to undertail, and a white belly. Groups and pairs roam woods, forest edges and patches, gardens, cultivated spaces, and scrub. Confined to lowlands of southeast Sulawesi. Occurs at lower elevations than Warbling White-eye, and differs from it in the dark eye and green forehead. Separated from Lemon-bellied White-eye by the white belly. Gives a slow-paced, high-pitched descending tinkling song, “chi-chiwit-chit-cher-cher.” Also high “zit” notes.
Vietnamese Greenfinch
Chloris monguilloti
A flashing vision in midnight black and daffodil-yellow with a deeply forked tail. Male averages darker than the female with a solid black back and dark streaking on the breast. Female has a patchier back and thinner streaks than the male. Both sexes have a dark head, a thin yellow collar, and bright wing panels. Inhabits foothills and mountainous pine forests and adjacent edges. Favors the Khasi pine where it can be found foraging in small flocks. Gives dry twitters and a typical finchlike wheezy upswept note. Song is usually a series of dry, “ticking” trills followed by an upswept note.
Sangihe Whistler
Coracornis sanghirensis
A chunky, dingy-looking, thick-billed songbird. Upperparts dark olive-brown, with a grayish head and a pale buff wash on the underparts. Note the pale bill with a dark tip. A rare species confined to canopy of tall, mature hill forest on Sangihe Island at sites where this habitat persists on ridges. Typically encountered in small groups or pairs. Most similar to Sangihe Golden-Bulbul, but Sangihe Whistler has a bicolored bill and lacks a yellow throat and face. Its loud song consists of around four repeated phrases. Also gives “churr” and sharp “wit” calls.
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