South Island Saddleback
Philesturnus carunculatus
A medium-sized songbird endemic to New Zealand, confined to predator-free offshore islands and South Island mainland sanctuaries. Glossy black plumage with distinct chestnut saddle across the back, which gives the bird its name. Note the bright reddish-orange wattles on either side of the bill. Juveniles have smaller wattles and are chocolate brown for their first year. Listen for distinct calls resembling a blaring “cheeet ta-chet ta-chet ta-chet” sound. Constantly moves noisily as it restlessly forages on the floor and through the canopy. Flicks over leaves and digs into rotting logs with its strong bill in search of invertebrates. Distinguished from Eurasian Blackbird by chestnut saddle and wattles.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Philesturnus carunculatus
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Callaeidae
- Genus
- Philesturnus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Fiji Bush Warbler
Horornis ruficapilla
A small, cock-tailed warbler with a bright orange-rufous head. Gray below and olive-brown above with a rufous-tinged tail. Skulks low in thick undergrowth and bamboo of upland forest, locally to sea level. Song is a very loud whistle rising in volume. Call is a short “tsic-tsic.”
Damara Red-billed Hornbill
Tockus damarensis
Fairly small, slim, long-tailed hornbill. Note the red bill, dark eye, pale face, and heavily spotted back. White patches on the wing and outer tail are conspicuous in flight. Found in arid savanna, often in lusher woodland along dry riverbeds. Call is a series of clucks that starts with single notes, then becomes louder and more emphatic, with doubled notes. Has a small area of overlap with the very similar Southern Red-billed Hornbill in northern Namibia. Separated by the unstreaked white face and dark eye, though beware of hybrids. Somewhat like Monteiro’s Hornbill, but smaller and slimmer-billed, with bolder white spotting on the back.
Guadalcanal Hooded Whistler
Pachycephala implicata
A distinctive whistler of dark, dingy appearance. Body color is a dank mossy olive, with a slate-gray throat and a black cap. Hood often appears one-colored in forest light. Female is golden below and olive above with a gray head and a white throat. Mainly found in primary forest above 1100 meters of elevation, but does wander lower. Occurs together with Oriole Whistler, but differs in the male’s lack of a bright golden throat, neck, and belly and the female’s olive back and unstreaked underparts. Voice includes a sequence of loud, almost electronic staccato whistles.
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