Malabar Woodshrike

Tephrodornis sylvicola

Large, dark woodshrike with ashy gray upperparts and darker gray wing panel and tail with a variable brownish tinge. A prominent black face mask surrounds the pale yellow iris. Underparts are white. Lacks the pale supercilium of the Common Woodshrike. Malabar Woodshrike typically inhabits tropical and subtropical lowland forests, both humid and dry, as well as clearings in evergreen forests. It is endemic to the Western Ghats region. This bird has a loud ringing call: “twee-tu, twee-tu, twee-tu.”

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Tephrodornis sylvicola
Authority
Jerdon, 1839
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Vangidae
Genus
Tephrodornis

Range and habitat

Migration
Vertical migration

Conservation

Population trend
stable

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Green-fronted Hanging-Parrot

Green-fronted Hanging-Parrot

Loriculus tener

A very small, thick-set, stub-tailed parrot. Entirely green with a small red throat patch. Female has a light blue facial crescent. In flight, bright blue underwing is diagnostic. Resident in lowland forest, most often seen in flight. Similar to Finsch’s Pygmy Parrot but much brighter, with vibrant green coloration and, in flight, a stronger blue underwing. Commonly gives a very high-pitched repeated “tse-tse-tse” on the wing.

Wire-tailed Manakin

Wire-tailed Manakin

Pipra filicauda

Spectacular manakin with very long tail filaments and piercing white eyes. Males are bright yellow from the face to the underparts and bright red from the crown to the mantle; otherwise they are black. Females are dull olive-green with a yellow tinge to the chin and breast and have shorter tail filaments. Usually found near streams in humid forests, including gallery forests and old second growth.

Principe Seedeater

Principe Seedeater

Crithagra rufobrunnea

An incredibly dowdy small seedeater with a pink-horn bill and a pale throat. On São Tomé its color is gray-brown and on Príncipe more buffy-cinnamon. On São Tomé it is a common resident in most habitats from primary forest to suburban gardens up to 1500 meters of elevation; on Príncipe it is uncommon and more restricted to forest. Song is variable, but mostly a strident, rapidly delivered series of high-pitched notes “tseet-teet-teet-teet-tseeu-tseeu-tseeu” or similar; call is a slurred “tshweet.” The much larger Sao Tome Grosbeak is chestnut in color and rare in remote forest on São Tomé; Yellow-fronted Canary is much brighter. 

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