Gray-sided Flowerpecker
Dicaeum celebicum
A tiny, stubby, plump dark songbird with a bold red throat in males. Female is nondescript, all gray with a clean white throat. Juveniles resemble female but have a pale-based bill and a green-washed breast. Singles and pairs can be found in lowlands and foothills in a variety of habitats, including forest, forest edge, scrub, and gardens. Male can be separated from male Crimson-crowned Flowerpecker by red throat and lack of red crown. Female Gray-sided differs from female Crimson-crowned in absence of red rump. Song is a thin, high-pitched “see-se-sooo.” Also gives a buzzy “tzjit” note.
Taxonomy
The grey-sided flowerpecker has five subspecies recognized:
- Scientific name
- Dicaeum celebicum
- Authority
- Müller, S, 1843
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Dicaeidae
- Genus
- Dicaeum
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Falkland Steamer-Duck
Tachyeres brachypterus
A large and flightless, grayish, heavy-set duck. Adult males have a bright orange bill; in females and juveniles, the bill is olive-green. Very similar to Flying Steamer-duck, and not easily identified; look for shorter, stunted wings and tail and thicker neck and bill. Found along the coast, where it favors small rocky islands, as well as sheltered inlets and bays. Also inhabits coastal ponds, but doesn’t venture farther inland, unlike Flying Steamer-Duck.
Somali Thrush
Turdus ludoviciae
A typical thrush in shape and size, but with unusually dark coloration. Mostly blackish with a paler gray belly and yellow-orange bill, eye-ring, and legs. Females are slightly paler and show some mottled streaking on the throat and breast. Found locally in juniper and hagenia woodland in the mountains of northern Somalia. The vocalizations are poorly known, but it gives a typical thrush song and harsh “chk-chk” calls.
Andean Duck
Oxyura ferruginea
Small, compact duck with a long, fan-shaped tail, often held sticking up out of water. Breeding males have a chestnut body, black head, and baby-blue bill. Nonbreeding males and females are variably brown overall, often with a smudgy dark face and a dark line through the cheek. Occurs in pairs or loose flocks, bobbing like corks on lakes in the Andes from central Colombia to southern Chile. Dives to forage on aquatic invertebrates. Not often seen flying.
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