Bornean Forktail
Enicurus borneensis
A typical forktail, with piebald plumage and long tail. Black head, upper back, chest and wings; white belly, rump, forecrown and wingbar; black and white tail and pale-pink legs. Inhabits shaded whitewater streams through montane rainforests, along which it perches on boulders and low-hanging branches. May overlap at mid-elevations with the very similar White-crowned Forktail which occurs in the lowlands, but Bornean has a longer tail and less extensive white on the head. Often detected by its vocalizations, a harsh buzzing whistle and high metallic whistles.
Taxonomy
It is closely related to the very similar white-crowned forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti) of which it is sometimes considered a subspecies, and from which it was split because of:
- Scientific name
- Enicurus borneensis
- Authority
- Sharpe, 1889
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Enicurus
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Leaden Flycatcher
Myiagra rubecula
A long-tailed, slender songbird with fine bill. Males rich blue-gray above, white below, with a blue-gray bib with convex lower edge (curves upward at the edges). Crown paler than throat, lending male a bearded appearance in optimal light. Male Satin Flycatcher has uniformly dark head, blackish (not grayish) tail feathers, and concave bib edge. Female paler blue-gray above, with pale orange throat and breast. Inhabits varied woodlands, perches high in the canopy, often shakes the tail rapidly. Song a repeated two-note whistle; call a loud buzzing “zerp.”
Creamy-bellied Gnatcatcher
Polioptila lactea
Distinctive gnatcatcher. Males have a glossy black cap and are gray above with a white face and yellow-washed underparts. Females have a gray cap. Forages acrobatically in the canopy and at the edges of humid forests and woodlands. May be seen alone or with mixed-species flocks. The song is a fast, thin “weet-weet-weet-weet.”
Socorro Mockingbird
Mimus graysoni
Only on Socorro Island, where in danger of extinction due to feral cats and overgrazing. Largely restricted to forest and edge on higher slopes of the island. Note the rather plain gray-brown head and upperparts, narrow whitish wingbars, whitish underparts with faint dusky streaks on the flanks, and narrow paler tail tips. Lacks the big white wing and tail flashes of Northern Mockingbird, which also occurs on the island.
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