Canary Islands Chaffinch
Fringilla canariensis
Dapper little finch endemic to the Canarias, where it inhabits a range of habitats, from forests to farmlands. Handsome, brightly colored male has a blue-grayish cowl, pale orangish face and breast, and a black-and-white wing pattern (colors muted in winter). Female much drabber but shares male pattern; especially note the complex wing pattern. Both sexes have white outer tail feathers, often striking in flight such as when flushed. Song is a somewhat buzzy series of up-and-down notes; calls include a somewhat sparrow-like “dwee!”
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Fringilla canariensis
- Authority
- Vieillot, 1817
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Fringilla
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Indian Pitta
Pitta brachyura
A colorful stubby-tailed bird, also known as “Navrang,” translated as “nine colors.” Colors are most striking when the bird is in flight. This bird has long, strong legs and a stout bill, a buffy crown with a black stripe in the middle, a black eye-stripe, and and buffy underparts with bright red on the vent. Upperparts are green, with a blue shoulder patch. It is usually seen foraging on forest floors with thick undergrowth, catching insects in leaf litter. This bird is vocal, giving its characteristic two-noted whistle call at dusk and dawn.
d'Orbigny's Chat-Tyrant
Ochthoeca oenanthoides
Attractive small flycatcher of open and semiopen scrubby habitats in the Andes. Often in rocky valleys and gullies and in open Polylepis groves. Usually seen as singles or pairs, perched quietly at low to middle levels in bushes, dropping to the ground to snatch prey. Combination of bold white eyebrow and rusty underparts is distinctive. Compare with Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant in northern part of its of range.
Vogelkop Melidectes
Melidectes leucostephes
A fairly large honeyeater of mid-montane forest and edge. Black body with olive wing feathers, boldly patterned with white scales on the back, flanks and dappled white on the chest. Large pale blue area of bare facial skin mainly behind the eye and a red wattle on the side of the throat. Co-occurs with Ornate and Cinnamon-browed Melidectes, but Vogelkop has a distinctive facial pattern with pale bill and white lines extending above and below to form a crescent shape. Calls include, loud downward whistles or parrotlike squawking.
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