Sumatran Shortwing
Brachypteryx saturata
A small, dark songster of montane rainforest floor and undergrowth on Sumatra. Male is overall dark slaty-gray but slightly paler on the belly. Female is similar but duller and even paler on the belly. Both sexes have thin, white eyebrows and long, black legs. Forages on the ground but also hops on logs and low branches. Can be confiding but moves rapidly when alarmed. Superficially similar to Sumatran Blue Robin but shortwing’s tail is shorter and it lacks the white forehead. Song is a cheerful, random series of up-and-down whistles. Call, a sharp “click!”
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Brachypteryx saturata
- Authority
- Salvadori, 1879
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Brachypteryx
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Certhiaxis mustelinus
Strikingly bicolored spinetail, bright rusty above and white below. Note the dusky lores. Found in riverine marshes. The song is a loud rattle: “tch-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t.”. The similar Yellow-chinned Spinetail has a pale eyebrow and a yellow chin and lacks the dusky lores; its song is similar but drier.
Rusty-flanked Crake
Laterallus levraudi
Small unbarred rufous crake with greenish bill and white central underparts. Sexes similar. Common, found in small groups or pairs in fresh water ponds and lagoons with wet grass from lowlands to mid elevations (2000 m). Difficult to see, but often walks in open areas in early morning. Voice a long and loud descending trill. Similar to Rufous-sided Crake (no range overlap) but lacks barring on underparts. Endemic to northern Venezuela.
Philippine Leafbird
Chloropsis flavipennis
A medium-sized bird of lowland and foothill forest canopy and edge. Overall bright green with a paler green chest and face and a yellowish throat, eye-ring, and edge to the wing. Note the brown bill and black wingtips and legs. No other green birds of this size occur in its range. Song consists of simple, medium-pitched whistled phrases or a series of repeated “tyup!” notes.
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