Collared Redstart
Myioborus torquatus
Small, active warbler with diagnostic yellow face, dark collar, and orange crown. Flashes white outer tail feathers while foraging for insects. Found in montane forest and edges, often in pairs. Follows mixed feeding flocks, often moving quickly through the middle levels of the trees. Sexes alike.
Identification
The collared whitestart is around 13 centimetres (5 in) in length with a weight of 10.5 grams (0.4 oz). It has a chestnut crown bordered with black, and a black forehead. The rest of the upper parts are slaty black, and the tail is black with white edges, hence the bird's name: "start" is an old English word for "tail". The face and underparts are bright yellow, with a black band across the breast.<p>The sexes are similar, but young birds are duller, with a browner back, weakly yellow underparts, and the head entirely slate-coloured, with no yellow on the face or red on the crown.[citation needed]
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Myioborus torquatus
- Authority
- (Baird, SF, 1865)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Parulidae
- Genus
- Myioborus
Range and habitat
The collared whitestart is common at heights between 1500 m and the timberline in mossy mountain forests, ravines, second growth, and adjacent pastures.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The call is a sharp pit, and the song is a mixture of slurred whistles, warbles and trills.<p>The collared whitestart feeds on insects,[citation needed] frequently fanning its striking tail as it pursues its prey. It will join mixed feeding flocks, and will follow cattle and occasionally humans for the insects they flush.<p>The roofed nest has a round side entrance and is built on the ground or a steep bank, hidden amongst rocks, tufts of grass or under a fallen log. It is constructed from strips of bark, plant fibres, leaves, and grass. From March to May, the female will lay 2 or 3 white or cream eggs that are speckled with fine brown spots. Incubation lasts about two weeks, but other nesting details are largely unknown.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Iriomote Tit
Sittiparus olivaceus
Reddish-brown songbird with a black crown and throat and olive-gray wings. Resident in broadleaf evergreen forests, especially in higher elevations, but poorly known. Endemic to Iriomote and Ishigaki Islands, in the southern Ryukyu Islands. Formerly considered conspecific with Varied Tit, and plumage intermediate between Varied Tit and Owston’s Tit, but neither has Iriomote’s olive wash on wings. Song resembles Japanese Tit, and nasal call recalls Varied Tit but drier.
White-rumped Swiftlet
Aerodramus spodiopygius
A small, mostly gray swiftlet, paler beneath with a pale throat and darker cap. White rump varies from white to pale gray. Occurs over a wide range of habitats up to 1900 meters of elevation. Similar to both Uniform Swiftlet and Mayr’s Swiftlet, but smaller, with a paler rump. Main call is a pleasant twitter, “twee-twee-chew-chew.”
Olive Bulbul
Iole viridescens
Small, dark brown bulbul with dirty-looking olive-yellow underparts. Combination of dark eyes and fairly uniform coloration distinguish this species from other, dull brown bulbuls. Inhabits lowland and hill forests, often clambering in dense tangled vegetation at mid to lower levels. Social, but shy and skulking. Gives an ascending two-part call: “chee-ik”.
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