Spectacled Bulbul
Rubigula erythropthalmos
Dull brown bulbul; paler below than above. Thin orangish eyering around the bright red eye is diagnostic, but not always easy to see. Very similar in appearance to slightly larger Red-eyed Bulbul, as well as to the red-eyed Bornean form of Cream-vented Bulbul; Spectacled is best separated by its combination of stronger contrast of the gray-washed head and breast with the rufous-brown wings and rump. Throat coloration of Spectacled is intermediate between the starkly pale throat of Cream-vented and the brown-suffused throat of Red-eyed, and its bill appears smaller and sharper than in the former two species. Song is a jumble of cricket-like chirping and harsh scratchy notes. Calls are a bright and bubbly series of notes--“pi-di-pi-pi-di-di”--sometimes with a descending meow at the end. Inhabits lowland and foothill forests, usually found in more mature growth than Cream-vented and Red-eyed Bulbuls.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Rubigula erythropthalmos
- Authority
- (Hume, 1878)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pycnonotidae
- Genus
- Rubigula
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Bronze Ground Dove
Pampusana beccarii
A rotund, short-legged ground-dwelling dove that usually runs rather than flies when startled. Both sexes have a brown body with bluish-gray chest and head. Males have an iridescent pink shoulder patch. Most obvious identification feature in the field is the glowing white eye-ring of the male, especially in more eastern populations such as those in the Solomon Islands. On mainland New Guinea, the species is a resident of upper-elevation montane forest. No other similar species occur in its altitudinal range. Gives a typical dove-like “woo-oop” call which is quiet and easily missed.
Kashmir Nutcracker
Nucifraga multipunctata
A jay-like bird with a long pointed bill, a black cap, and white spots all over. Very similar to Eurasian Nutcracker, but the Kashmir Nutcracker appears whiter overall with more white on the back, underparts, undertail, and tail tips. Forages in conifers for nuts and seeds, occasionally descending to the ground. Calls include loud, harsh “kraaa” notes.
Long-billed Plover
Thinornis placidus
Medium-sized plover. Breeds in flowing rivers with shingle islands and banks; outside of breeding season, can be found in slower rocky rivers, as well as flooded fields and lakeshores. Resembles a larger version of Little Ringed Plover—similarly brown, white below, with black neck band, white collar, and white supercilium—but lacks the yellow eyering of Little and is much larger, with longer wings and tail giving Long-billed a very different shape. Sometimes difficult to spot, as it is well camouflaged among rocks and pebbles, and often first detected by its sharp alarm call, “piwee”, given when flushed. Longer bill not an especially reliable feature for field identification.
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