Black-bellied Cicadabird

A small starling with dramatically different-looking sexes, although both sexes sport a distinctive dark bill and a lemon-yellow eye. The male is iridescent, ranging from plum-violet to purple-blue depending on the light, except for the white belly and vent. The female and juvenile have brown-streaked white bellies and darker brown-streaked upperparts. Pairs and small flocks occupy open woodland, riverine forest, and wooded parkland, where they feed on fruit and berries, being an important dispersal agent of mistletoes, although they also opportunistically take insects, particularly winged termites and ants. Some populations are resident, but most are migratory or nomadic.

Rather drab but distinctive little bird: note slender, thrush-like bill (not stout, like superficially similar sparrows), blue-gray head sides, streaked back. Usually seen as singles or pairs, hopping on lawns or paths with distinctive shuffling gait. Found in a variety of open scrubby and wooded habitats, from low bleak heathland to parks, gardens, and farmland with hedges. Undistinguished, slightly tinny, rambling song has an even, warbled cadence; distinctive when learned. A Eurasian native, introduced to New Zealand and a few surrounding islands.

A yellow-and-black weaver. Male has a distinctive golden crown and upper back, but the lower back and tail are black. Female is black on the mask, and on the forehead up to the midcrown. Juvenile is mostly dark above. An uncommon resident in the middle levels and canopy of primary and secondary forest, especially sub-montane forest. Found in pairs and small groups, and often joins mixed-species flocks. Mostly silent, the voice undocumented. Preuss’s Weaver is similar to Yellow-capped, but it has a yellow (not black) lower back and rump, and it creeps along branches and trunks like a nuthatch.