White-eyed Robin
Pachycephalopsis poliosoma
A medium-sized bird of mid-montane forest understory. Sooty gray color, paler on the belly, darker on the face and wing. Note the pale eye and white throat contrasting with the dark face. Birds on the Huon Peninsular have a gray throat. Perches on low branches, flicking tail and scanning the ground for insect prey. Smoky and Blue-gray Robins have limited altitudinal overlap, but White-eyed is usually found at lower elevations, has a white eye and usually a white throat. Voice, a loud, upslurred whistle “wit!”. Also, a rising series of notes, first whistled then becoming raspier and accelerating.
Identification
It is dark grey with a black eye-stripe, a brown tail and a white throat. Its bill is short and its eyes are brown.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Pachycephalopsis poliosoma
- Authority
- Sharpe, 1882
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Oreoicidae
- Genus
- Pachycephalopsis
Range and habitat
Its natural habitats is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Silver-backed Needletail
Hirundapus cochinchinensis
A large, powerful swift, usually seen flying above montane forests. Similar in size and shape to White-throated Needletail and can be difficult to distinguish in poor lighting. At close range, grayish (rather than white) throat patch and a smaller, duller pale patch on the back are distinctive. If seen with White-throated, appears marginally smaller and less bulky, with a shorter-winged silhouette. Voice a thin, descending twitter.
Western Marsh Harrier
Circus aeruginosus
Gangly raptor with long wings and tail; local in marshes and wetlands with extensive reed beds. Mainly seen in flight, quartering fairly low over marshes, with wings raised in shallow V. Commonest plumage dark brown overall with variable creamy cap, throat, and narrow leading edge to wing. Brightest adult males have tricolored upperwings, grayish tail, pale head and breast contrasting with rusty-brown belly. Extremely similar to closely related Eastern Marsh-Harrier; males of that species are darker-headed and browner-chested, and females are warmer brown and streakier on the chest, without Eurasian's discrete white 'cap' and dark line through the eye.
Great Reed Warbler
Acrocephalus arundinaceus
A hulking warbler that resembles Eurasian Reed-Warbler in coloration but far larger with a proportionately more massive head, heavy bill with a dark tip, and a broad, pale eyebrow. Breeds in reed beds, crashing through the reeds in short flights and bending stems when perched. Non-breeding habitat includes wet marshy areas, as well as drier habitats such as agricultural fields, savanna, and low scrubby growth. Song short but very loud and memorable with repeated phrases of "karra-karra-karra gurk gurk gurk chirrr-chirrr karra karra." Call a high-pitched “krrrrr."
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