Spot-throat

Modulatrix stictigula

Supreme understory skulker in montane forest, resembling a hybrid between a thrush and babbler. A dull but distinctive-looking bird if seen well, with brown-olive upperparts and rusty underparts, a bold dull blue-gray eye-ring and black-speckled tawny throat. The bill is dark on top and pale underneath. Immature is paler, lacking the spotted throat. Singles or pairs are highly localized residents flicking through leaf litter or following ants in undergrowth of Eastern Arc montane forest, between 900–2700m; shy and hops or runs quickly across the forest-floor, seldom permitting absorbing looks. Thrush-like song is a varied but distinctive shrill series of whistles and slurs. Calls include a single upslurred sweet “seeuuuiit”, and a scratchy “werrrt” in alarm.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Modulatrix stictigula
Authority
(Reichenow, 1906)
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Modulatricidae
Genus
Modulatrix

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
declining

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Black Scimitarbill

Black Scimitarbill

Rhinopomastus aterrimus

This all-black bird has a long, slim bill, and a fairly long tail. In flight, white bars across the wings are revealed. Birds in the eastern part of the range also have white in the outer tail, while the western birds have all-black tails. Found in a variety of savanna habitats. The call is a series of fluted, rising “wheet” notes; similar to Common Scimitarbill, but higher-pitched. Also similar in appearance to Common Scimitarbill, but there is little overlap in range, and Black is separated by its straighter bill and slightly shorter and less pointed tail. Separated from woodhoopoes by its shorter, less floppy, and squarer tail.

Green-winged Pytilia

Green-winged Pytilia

Pytilia melba

A vividly colored waxbill with a red bill, rump, and tail and an olive-green back and wings. The male’s forehead and throat are orange-red, and it sports a bright breast band which varies in color geographically. The female lacks the breast band and has a gray head. Pairs and small flocks are resident in arid thorn savanna, dry woodland, and cultivation, where they feed on the ground for seeds and insects and fly into trees when disturbed. The species may join mixed-species flocks. The similar Orange-winged Pytilia differs from the larger Green-winged Pytilia by having diagnostic golden-yellow edges to the wing feathers.

Laysan Albatross

Laysan Albatross

Phoebastria immutabilis

A large seabird with very long, narrow wings; much larger than shearwaters and petrels. Unmistakable with white body, dingy pinkish bill, and dark markings on underwing. Fairly common offshore throughout North Pacific, as far north as the Bering Sea. Occasionally seen from shore. Breeds mainly in Hawaii, where it is often confiding and unafraid of humans. Nests on the ground in coastal areas of Kauai and northern Oahu; abundant in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Smaller colonies also exist off Japan and Mexico. Calls include whinnying, low cow-like “moo,” soft grunts, and squeals. Also claps bill.

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