Pied Bronze-Cuckoo

Chalcites crassirostris

Striking small cuckoo endemic to the Tanimbar, and Kai and Tayando Islands (where rare) of the southeastern Moluccas. Male is dark iridescent green above and white below, with a bright red patch of bare facial skin around each eye, and a large white wing patch. Female is similarly patterned but duller. Usually observed in thicker vegetation at the edges of dense forest or in regenerating growth. Has two primary vocalizations: a fast, slightly descending trill, and a short series of high-pitched piping notes that trail off.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Chalcites crassirostris
Order
Cuculiformes
Family
Cuculidae
Genus
Chalcites

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Boat-tailed Grackle

Boat-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus major

Large, lanky blackbird with rounded crown and long tail. Males have ridiculously long tails, almost as long as their body, often held in a V-shape like the keel of boat. Males are glossy black. Females are brown, with subtle face pattern. Eye color ranges from brown along western Gulf Coast to yellow on Atlantic Coast. Strictly coastal, except in Florida where they occur inland (often around human development). Overlaps with similar Great-tailed Grackle on Texas coast, but occurs more strictly in coastal saltmarshes and has dark eye (not pale).

Humblot's Sunbird

Humblot's Sunbird

Cinnyris humbloti

A small sunbird with a relatively short, slightly downcurved bill. Males are colorful, with blue and purple iridescence on the head and breast and orange and yellow on the belly. Females are fairly drab, with a dark-spotted white breast and a yellow belly. Found in all habitats on the islands of Grand Comoro and Moheli. Found alongside Madagascar Sunbird, but much smaller, with a shorter, weaker bill. Males further separated by their paler yellow belly, and females by having less streaking on the underparts and no conspicuous pale eyebrow. The song is a typical sunbird jumble of squeaky notes, and the call is a rising whine. 

Plain-winged Antwren

Plain-winged Antwren

Myrmotherula behni

Small, rare antbird found in lush cloud forest along the east slope of the Andes and in the tepui region of Venezuela, Guyana, and extreme northern Brazil. Male is dark gray with black throat and breast; extent of black is geographically variable. Female is brown with a pale throat. Similar to Slaty Antwren but lacks wing markings. Inhabits forest understory, where often encountered with mixed-species flocks. Song is a series of four to ten soft whistles.

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