Timor Sparrow
Padda fuscata
An unmistakable, boldly patterned sparrow confined to the eastern Lesser Sundas. A brown songbird with a black cap, a black throat, and a bold white cheek patch. Has a brown chest band above cream-colored underparts, and a silvery-gray bill. Juvenile shows indistinct buff eyebrow, white throat, and reduced face patch. Flocks occur in a variety of open country habitats including scrub, farmland, and sparsely wooded areas, avoiding dense forest. Often mixes with other local finches. Gives a variety of chattering “chip” and “chup” notes characteristic of sparrows.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Padda fuscata
- Authority
- (Vieillot, 1807)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Estrildidae
- Genus
- Padda
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Red-legged Thrush
Turdus plumbeus
An often conspicuous ground-dwelling species that occurs in a wide variety of habitats from brush and gardens to dense woods. Appearance highly variable across its range but throughout is unique in its blue-tinged gray plumage combined with bright orange-red legs and eyering. Song is typically a series of deliberate whistled couplets. Calls include a variety of squeaks, chucks, and a loud “tsee-up.”
Black-faced Waxbill
Brunhilda erythronotos
Slim, pretty waxbill with a bold black facemask. Found mainly in dry thornscrub and woodland, especially in grassy areas. Usually in pairs or flocks of up to 30. Calls are a dry (often doubled) “tsip” and a whimsical, rising “tsew-tew-tweee”. Very difficult to separate from Black-cheeked Waxbill in the narrow zone of overlap in East Africa. Black-faced Waxbill usually shows more black on the belly.
Kangean Tit-Babbler
Mixornis prillwitzi
Small drab bird of forest or degraded habitat, endemic to the island of Kangean, Indonesia. Unremarkable in appearance. Pale yellowish-tan underparts, warmer on the chest, brownish-gray crown and back, gray cheek, and rufous-brown wings and tail. Forages in pairs or small groups close to the ground or at mid-level. Song is a series of “chonk” notes, similar to Bold-striped Tit-Babbler; calls include a dry, rolling chatter.
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