Yunnan Fulvetta

Alcippe fratercula

Active and noisy inhabitant of foothill and highland forest. Brown with a gray head, white eyering, and a long black arc that extends from just above the bill to the back of the crown. Frequently joins mixed flocks, of which it is often a dominant member. Extremely similar in appearance to the closely related Huet’s and David’s Fulvettas; watch for a grayer throat and paler underparts in the former and an absent or near-invisible brow line in the latter. Song is a quick, sputtering burst of high notes that ends with a brief whistle. Calls are chattering rattles.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Alcippe fratercula
Authority
Rippon, 1900
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Leiothrichidae
Genus
Alcippe

Photos

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker

Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker

Piculus callopterus

This scarce small woodpecker is golden-olive above and barred below. The male has a red crown, a red mustache stripe, and a yellow stripe below the eye. Females are similar but only have red on the nape. Occurs singly or in pairs, usually in the lower to middle levels of foothill forest and edge. Compare with Rufous-winged Woodpecker, which lacks the yellow stripe on the face.

Chestnut-bellied Partridge

Chestnut-bellied Partridge

Arborophila javanica

Brilliantly colored small partridge of montane and foothill forests. Often difficult to see in the gloom and tangle of shaded vegetation, but note slate-gray back and chest, rusty belly, and bright orange-and-black face pattern. Like other Arborophila partridges, typically forages on the forest floor in small groups. Song is a fast and gradually rising series of “whew” notes; when duetting, one bird gives the aforementioned song while its partner gives a slower, lower-pitched “boo-goo, boo-goo, boo-goo.”

Kerguelen Shag

Kerguelen Shag

Leucocarbo verrucosus

An attractive Southern Ocean crested and pied cormorant with pinkish feet, orange-buff warty caruncles on forehead, and a blue eye-ring, but without white wingbars. Juvenile is duller, lacking facial ornaments. Restricted to a single subantarctic island, Kerguelen, where it is the only cormorant and is commonly seen foraging in inshore waters. Although they do not overlap in range, most other Southern Ocean “blue-eyed” shags are larger, with whiter sides to the head, and many have white wingbars. Call is a grunting wheeze. 

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