Gray-winged Blackbird
Turdus boulboul
A large forest thrush whose name describes its key feature; males are black and females are brown, but both have flashing silvery wings. Bright orange bill and eyering are eye-catching in dark forests. Forages quietly in the understory of montane and submontane broadleaf evergreen forests. Often solitary, occasionally in flocks in the winter. Tends not to visit gardens and parks like Tibetan and Chinese blackbirds, but does occasionally visit feeders at hides. Sweet, “thrushy” song consists of warbled phrases, sometimes with a slightly scratchy quality.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Turdus boulboul
- Authority
- (Latham, 1790)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Turdidae
- Genus
- Turdus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Burnished-buff Tanager
Stilpnia cayana
A common tanager of savannas, forest borders, woodlands, and gardens. Often seen in pairs or with other species at fruiting trees, but usually not with mixed-species flocks. Males have a black face, throat, breast, and belly that is flanked by buffy sides. The crown and back are also buff and the wings and tail are dark-green. Females are buffy below with greenish back and wings, a pale throat, and a faint mask. The northern subspecies has a black mask (lacking the black throat and belly) with a violet gray throat and buffy belly.
Fiji Parrotfinch
Erythrura pealii
A gorgeous small finch with a bright crimson face, rump, and tail. Body is green with a blue chest and a black throat. Common in forest edge, gardens, and scrubby park habitats. Uncommon in forest. Pink-billed Parrotfinch is similar, but pale pink bill and black face are diagnostic. Fiji’s voice is a thin high-pitched “cheee cheee cheee.”
Southern Hyliota
Hyliota australis
Mid-sized, generic-looking warbler-like bird. Males have a matte black back, a white wing patch, and very pale yellowish underparts. Females are similar, but browner on the back. Found mainly in broadleaf savanna, and locally in humid forest. Usually in pairs or small groups, which will join mixed-species feeding flocks. The quiet vocalizations include chatty calls and trills. Very similar to Yellow-bellied Hyliota. In most of the range, Southern males distinguished by the smaller white patch on the wing, and females by their browner upperparts. In Uganda and Kenya, males are extremely similar, but Southern can still be recognized by its non-glossy black back.
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