Eyebrowed Wren-Babbler
Napothera epilepidota
While furtive, this tiny skulker is distinctive if seen well. Short-tailed and large-headed in profile, somewhat like a vole or shrew. Brown with a pale throat, white eyebrow, and white speckling on the upper body. Both undersides and uppersides are streaked with white, though the prominence of this streaking depends on the lighting. Appearance varies slightly across range. Song, composed of a single airy monotone or slightly falling whistle repeated at 3- to 5-second intervals, is hauntingly ventriloquial. Found in tropical and subtropical evergreen forests with dense understoreys, from lowlands up into submontane areas.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Napothera epilepidota
- Authority
- (Temminck, 1828)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pellorneidae
- Genus
- Napothera
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Yellow-crested Cockatoo
Cacatua sulphurea
A medium-sized white cockatoo with a yellow crest; rare and endangered throughout its native range but has several strong naturalized populations across Asia. Raucous and social, usually seen in large flocks flying noisily over forested areas. Noticeably smaller than the similarly-colored Sulphur-crested Cockatoo; no natural range overlap, but the two coexist in parts of their introduced range, such as Singapore.
Gray-winged Trumpeter
Psophia crepitans
Chicken-sized and oddly proportioned terrestrial bird of tall rainforest that is common where not hunted. Peculiar shape, behavior, and tendency to occur in large groups render this species difficult to mistake for any other. Groups walk through forest, flicking wings nervously while feeding on insects, small vertebrates, and fallen fruit. Often seen crossing roads through forested regions. Can be extremely noisy, especially when startled; bizarre calls include a variety of grunts, wails, and screams.
Orange Dove
Ptilinopus victor
A spectacular and unique dove. Male is vivid orange with peculiar hair-like feathers and bright yellow wingtips. Head is duller brown than body. Female is mostly green with a yellow undertail and a brownish face. She resembles female Golden and Velvet Doves, but those species do not overlap in range. Unique voice sounds much like a dripping tap from a distance, but up close more like someone clicking their thumb and finger together: a regular “drip drip drip.”
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