Red-keeled Flowerpecker
Dicaeum australe
A small bird of lowland and foothill forest and more open woodland. Black upperparts are glossed blue, while white underparts are washed with pale gray. A red stripe runs down the belly. Note the fairly long slender bill. Similar to Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, but lacks the black line down the belly. Voice includes sharp, repetitive “chik!” calls, sometimes descending into a more varied, rapid series and a trill.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Dicaeum australe
- Authority
- (Hermann, 1783)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Dicaeidae
- Genus
- Dicaeum
Range and habitat
Small, relatively long curved bill of medium thickness, sexes similar, races vary by having black breast and broad scarlet keel haematostictum or no black and narrow scarlet keel australe male upperparts glossy blue black; chin and sides of throat white; rest of underparts gray with diagnostic narrow scarlet stripe down center of the breast and belly; underwing and pectoral tufts white. female like male but paler. imm dark grayish brown above, brownish olive gray below. Bill and lags black; eye dark chestnut.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Audouin's Gull
Ichthyaetus audouinii
Elegant slim gull with long legs, and narrow wings. Adults have a light grey body with a paler white head. The wings are light gray with black tips, lacking conspicuous white spots. Legs are dark gray and the bill is dark red. Eyes are dark. Juveniles are similar to Lesser Black-backed Gull, with strongly barred underwings and a U-shaped white rump patch and dark tail. In their 1st winter they develop a gray-brown mantle and in their second winter the head is already white; the tail and secondaries have a black band.
Black-capped Bulbul
Rubigula melanictera
Medium-sized greenish bird with a bright yellow underside and black head. Occurs in a variety of habitats, wherever there are trees, including forest, open woodlands, and gardens, in the lowlands and foothills. Usually encountered in pairs or small groups. Yellow throat and lack of black in the wing separates this species from Black-hooded Oriole. Unmarked, black head identifies Black-capped Bulbul from Yellow-eared and Yellow-browed Bulbuls. Song is series of warbling whistles, rising at the end, “wet-wet-wet-wer-wer-wer-weer.” Also gives churring calls.
Spotted Kestrel
Falco moluccensis
Heavily-marked reddish-brown falcon, found in open habitats across much of the Indonesian Archipelago. Dense spotting on back and wings contrasts sharply with gray tail. Sexes generally similar, but female averages more densely patterned, with fine barring on the tail. The only resident kestrel throughout much of range, but potential for overlap with Australian and Eurasian Kestrels exists; note densely-patterned underparts, overall richer and darker coloration, and dark brown crown. Hovers and hunts from an exposed perch. Gives shrill yaps and squeaks.
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