Gray-crowned Prinia

Male is entirely glossy black with a slightly erect crest. Female red on the back and pale whitish buff below, with a bicolored head: pale throat and head black to below the eye. On New Britain, female is dusky gray below and on the throat. Prefers primary forest and undisturbed second growth. Song is a series of loud, piercing whistles. Call is a buzzing nasal churr.

Small, chickenlike dweller of dense forests and tangled edges. Dark brown above, with orange head and breast and black-and-white-striped sides. Juvenile similar but with brown head and breast, narrower white stripes below. Dark lead-gray legs distinguish this species from Red-legged, Band-bellied, and Ruddy-breasted crakes, which also show different underpart patterns. Sings at night from favored tree perches, a series of doubled hoots that recall Mountain Scops-Owl.

Handsome and generally common dabbling duck of wetlands, lakes, and river mouths. Sexes look alike with a bright yellow bill (duller for a short while on young birds), a plain and rather “soft-faced” brown head, and dark-mottled sides. Also note its elegant shape with a slender neck and long pointed tail. Yellow-billed Teal look somewhat similar (and often occurs in same areas) but Yellow-billed Teal are smaller and more compact with a darker head and plain grayish sides.