Masked Laughingthrush

Handsome male is gray above with a bright red throat, black chest, and white belly. Also note white eyebrows and “moustache” stripe, as well as white panels and edges on a black tail. Female is duller, cold gray-brown above with a white belly and throat. Extremely similar to Himalayan Rubythroat: note gray flecking on white flanks of male and white “moustache” (striking in males, pale and sometimes unnoticeable in females). Breeds in alpine and subalpine open areas with scattered scrub and boulders; preferred habitat averages higher and more open than Himalayan. Winters in lowland scrub. Song is a series of loud rich warbles, which average shorter and less varied than those of Himalayan Rubythroat.

Male is a pale ashy-gray songbird with darker, pale-edged wings. Female is paler, especially underneath, and shows more extensive pale wing markings. Juvenile is still paler than female with faint breast streaking. Found in a variety of woods and forests in lowlands and foothills, where singles, pairs, or groups inhabit upper levels. Smaller than Black-faced, Moluccan, and Buru Cuckooshrikes, with a noticeably slimmer bill and much less black on the head. Differs from Wallacean Cuckooshrike in its paler appearance and in showing less black on face. Calls include a dry rattle, “grrrrrrrt,” a short single “chuck” call, and chattering phrases.

A bulbul-sized olive-brown bird that sports a diagnostic all-red bill and a red eye surrounded by a fleshy yellow wattle. The juvenile lacks the bright bill and eye coloration. Small groups occur in savanna and farmland, where they require large wild ungulates and domestic stock to forage on; they clamber agilely over host mammals, gleaning ticks, mites, and other ectoparasites, and occasionally drinking host blood. As they fly between large mammals, they give a distinctive “tsik-tsik” call. The similar Yellow-billed Oxpecker differs from Red-billed Oxpecker by having a yellow bill base and pale rump and lacking an eye-wattle.