Sao Francisco Sparrow

A long-tailed bird of upper montane forest. The male has an iridescent green head and bib with a black chest band bordered with a thin gold stripe. Note the outlandishly long, white tail streamers. Female is blackish with barring on the belly and some iridescence on the head. Mainly eats fruit. Similar to Stephanie’s Astrapia, but Ribbon-tailed usually occurs at higher elevations. The female Ribbon-tailed has iridescence on the head and the male’s tail is white rather than black. Voice, excited, pulsing rasps.

Striking chubby songbird with a black “robber’s” mask. Male is pearly gray overall with an orange breast patch. Female is warm brown overall and lacks the male’s breast patch. Both sexes have a glossy black tail and wing markings. Breeds in coniferous and mixed montane and foothill forests; sometimes descends to lower elevations during the winter. Song is a chattering series of whistles and distinctly dry and raspingly creaky notes. Calls are soft and mellow-sounding, usually a “poo-yee” or “pooe” note.

Tiny honeyeater. Adult males have brilliant red coloration on the face and back; it also extends down onto the breast. The rest of the male’s breast and underparts are predominantly white; its wings and tail are black. Adult females are uniformly pale brown-gray with faint red on the face. Young birds are similar to adult females but have varying amounts of red. Take care not to confuse the plain female/young birds with other plain honeyeaters such as Brown Honeyeater and Dusky Honeyeater. Found in wetter parts of coastal eastern Australia; this includes forests at higher elevations and mangroves. Has a distinctive high-pitched song that is helpful to learn for identifying this species as it often feeds high in the canopy.