Magnificent Sunbird
Aethopyga magnifica
A stunning small bird of lowland and foothill scrub and gardens in the western Visayas. Male has a bright red head, back, and chest, a purple forehead, a broadening purple mustache stripe, a purple tail, black wings and belly, and a bright yellow patch on the lower back. Similar to Purple-throated, but larger; male lacks the purple throat, and female is mainly olive with distinctive reddish wings and tail. Call is a repeated high-pitched “chik!”
Identification
EBird describes the bird as "A stunning small bird of lowland and foothill scrub and gardens in the western Visayas. Male has a bright red head, back, and chest, a purple forehead, a broadening purple mustache stripe, a purple tail, black wings and belly, and a bright yellow patch on the lower back. Similar to Purple-throated, but larger; male lacks the purple throat, and female is mainly olive with distinctive reddish wings and tail. Call is a repeated high-pitched chik.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Aethopyga magnifica
- Authority
- Sharpe, 1876
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Nectariniidae
- Genus
- Aethopyga
Range and habitat
It is found in fruiting and flowering trees in primary, secondary and cultivated areas up to 1000 masl. <p>IUCN has assessed this bird as least concern with the population trend being assessed as stable. This is due to the species being able to tolerate degraded forest and cultivated areas unlike other forest specialists.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Pallas's Bunting
Emberiza pallasi
Very similar to Reed Bunting, but smaller and more slender; also note finer bill, colder pale buffy-brown (instead of rufous) wing coverts, and less extensive streaking on the underparts. Breeding male has a black hood and bright white “moustache” stripe. Female and non-breeding birds are pale sandy brown with a pale but noticeable white “moustache.” Breeds in thickets and vegetation clusters in tundra and winters in reedbeds and tall grassy or brushy areas near water, where often associated with mixed-species flocks. Song is a series of wet buzzy “tsli” notes. “Chlip” calls distinctly sparrow-like.
Pygmy Nuthatch
Sitta pygmaea
Small nuthatch of coniferous forests in western North America. Note dark grayish-brown cap and buffy underparts with grayish sides. Very similar plumage to Brown-headed Nuthatch, but no range overlap. Usually occurs in small flocks high in the crowns of pine trees, often mixed with other songbirds. Listen for cute pips and squeaks.
Taiwan Rosefinch
Carpodacus formosanus
Endemic to Taiwan's mountain forests, this is the only breeding rosefinch on the island. Male deep wine-red with a frosty white brow and dark wings. Female dark brown, finely streaked below. Usually forages low in the forest, in thickets or on the ground. In parks and near villages, often perches up on railings and trail markers.
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