Bar-bellied Pitta
Hydrornis elliotii
Jade-green pitta with densely striped, green underparts and a black mask. Male has an aquamarine-blue patch on the back of the crown and a dark purplish-blue one on the belly. Female lacks both of these features and instead has a pale orangish head. Like other pittas, forages deep in dense undergrowth and can be hard to see, especially in the limestone gullies and forested riversides it prefers. Predominantly a lowland species. Song is a brief, bubbly-sounding exclamation of three notes, akin to “chowee-wu!”. Call sounds rather like a single blare of a police car alarm.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Hydrornis elliotii
- Authority
- (Oustalet, 1874)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pittidae
- Genus
- Hydrornis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
West Indian Whistling-Duck
Dendrocygna arborea
A distinctive large waterbird between the size of a large duck and a goose. Nocturnal; roosts during day in mangroves, wooded ponds and marshes and feeds primarily at night. Generally scarce and typically somewhat secretive, particularly where hunting of this species is allowed. Call is loud shrill whistle: “pip-pip-pip-weeeeeaaaa” usually given when agitated or in flight. Similar Fulvous Whistling-Duck is brighter with streaked, not spotted, flanks.
Zone-tailed Hawk
Buteo albonotatus
Dark raptor that soars with a "V" or dihedral shape and rocks side-to-side in flight. Black overall with silver bars on flight feathers and white banded tail. Yellow feet and cere; small pale gray area in front of eyes. Sexes similar; immature similar to adult but lacking dark trailing edge to wings and with more finely banded banded gray and black tail. Shape and flight style remarkably similar to Turkey Vulture. Plumage much like Common Black Hawk but wing shape is very different. Rarely seen perched. Found in a variety of habitats, including mountains, deserts, and mangroves.
New Ireland Myzomela
Myzomela pulchella
A tiny curve-billed myzomela. Male is red-faced with olive-green upperparts and buffy cream underparts. Found in montane forest above 200 meters of elevation, but more commonly above 500 meters of elevation. Male unlikely to be misidentified. Female diagnosed by mostly brown plumage and reddish head, unlike the much darker blackish Bismarck Black Myzomela.
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