Hook-billed Kingfisher

A chunky little bird found in a wide variety of open landscapes, often sitting on exposed perches. Breeding male has a black head, a broad white half-collar, mostly rusty-red underparts, and a white undertail and rump. Non-breeding male is patchier, with a paler head and chest. Female is predominantly streaky brown above and pale below, with a small white patch on the wing but no strongly contrasting pattern on the face. Siberian Stonechat is extremely similar, and in areas of overlap, or in cases of vagrancy, most individuals are inseparable based on current knowledge. Amur Stonechat typically shows slightly less white on the rump.

A fairly small bird of lowland and foothill forest and edge; endemic to Samar, Leyte, and Bohol, though lumped with Calabarzon Babbler under “Black-crowned Babbler” by some taxonomies. Has a gray back and cheek with fine pale streaks, dark wings and tail with white outer tail feathers, white underparts, a pale rufous throat, and a black crown. Note the slender black bill. Often joins mixed-species flocks and sometimes hangs upside down while feeding. Somewhat similar to Green-backed Whistler, especially from below, but smaller, with a pale rufous throat and a black crown. Voice includes a medium-pitched “poo piuu!” with the second note downslurred.

Very small flycatcher with an olive-green back; white below with thin gray streaks. Note the whitish wingbars. Patchily distributed in low-stature white sand forests. The song, like the bird, is easily overlooked: a low, short, stuttered trill, “tid-dip, tid, te, de.”