Green Figbird
Sphecotheres viridis
Male figbird is a distinctive oriole with a moss-green body and a black head with bright red facial skin. Female is brown, with a heavily streaked lighter underside and dull blue-gray or pinkish facial skin. Juvenile resembles a less boldly marked female. Gregarious; typically found in pairs or small groups within forest, edge, woodland, and mangroves in the lowlands. Occurs in a restricted range in the eastern Lesser Sundas, where it is the only figbird. Song comprises imitations, chattering, and twittering. Also gives harsh “wit,” “burr,” and trill notes: “klerr-wit-wit-wit-wit.”
Identification
It resembles the more widespread Australian figbird, but is smaller, and except for the paler crissum (around the cloaca), the male is entirely yellow-olive below (including the throat).
Taxonomy
Formerly, some authorities have classified the green figbird in the genus Oriolus. It has sometimes included the two other figbirds as subspecies, in which case the combined species simply was known as "figbird", but today, all major authorities consider them as separate species.
- Scientific name
- Sphecotheres viridis
- Authority
- Vieillot, 1816
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Oriolidae
- Genus
- Sphecotheres
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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