Bornean Leafbird

Chloropsis kinabaluensis

Accurately-named leaf-green canopy-dweller of Borneo’s central montane forests. Male has a black throat with a blue center and lemon-yellow outline. Female similar, but throat is all-dark, with no blue or yellow on the head. Both sexes have sky-blue flight feathers. Very similar to male Blue-winged Leafbird (the female of which lacks a black throat); look for Bornean’s green crown, yellow bib, paler blue wings, and more yellow-washed underparts. Gives a high thin “tseep” and a whistled “wee-chup!”, among other calls.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Chloropsis kinabaluensis
Authority
Sharpe, 1887
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Chloropseidae
Genus
Chloropsis

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
declining

Photos

Distribution

Other Birds

Southern Variable Pitohui

Southern Variable Pitohui

Pitohui uropygialis

A fairly large bird of mainly secondary lowland and foothill forest edge. As the name suggests, a variably plumaged bird. Males mostly have a black hood, wing and tail with belly and back, chestnut or orange-brown. Males and females of some races have a brown head. Very similar to Hooded Pitohui, but Southern Variable is usually found at lower elevation and has black rather than brown above the base of the tail. Song, a varied, jumbled warble.

Yellow-throated Antwren

Yellow-throated Antwren

Myrmotherula ambigua

Tiny antwren, heavily streaked with black and white above, solid yellow below. Females have a tawny-colored head. Note the two white wingbars. Inhabits the canopy and subcanopy of humid forest, including white sand forest; almost always associated with mixed-species flocks. The song is a monotonous repetition of “pew-pew” notes. The similar male of Pygmy Antwren has a white throat, while females are inseparable.

Great Black-backed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Larus marinus

The largest gull in the world. Huge, bulky, and large-billed. Adults have dark black backs and pale pink legs. Nonbreeding adults have very limited streaking on the head. Takes four years for immatures to reach adult plumage; intermediate plumages are often mottled and messy. Tends to look colder-toned overall, with more checkered upperparts and a whiter head than other immature gulls. Always note large size and thick bill. Most common along the coasts of the northeastern U.S. and Europe, but also occurs on large lakes (especially the Great Lakes). Often gathers in mixed flocks with other large gulls on beaches and mudflats.

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