Northern Pied-Babbler
Turdoides hypoleuca
A boldly marked babbler with gray-brown upperparts and mostly white underparts. Also note the pale eye and variable gray-brown blotching on the sides and on the breast. Found in woodland, thickets, and lush scrub, almost always in small groups which forage by hopping across the ground. Similar in shape and size to other babblers, but easily separated by the strikingly light-and-dark plumage. Nasal babbling call is frequently given, usually by a whole group in chorus.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Turdoides hypoleuca
- Authority
- (Cabanis, 1878)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Leiothrichidae
- Genus
- Turdoides
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Banded Bay Cuckoo
Cacomantis sonneratii
Slender brown cuckoo with extensive fine barring and pale face and underparts. Found in lowland and foothill forests, where, like many cuckoos, it can often be inconspicuous in dense foliage. Listen for its two distinct songs, a high rising “smoke-yer-pep-per!” and a series of rising whistles.
Baird's Trogon
Trogon bairdii
Unique trogon with dark purplish head and breast, turquoise back, white undertail, and pale blue bill and eyering. No white band between chest and belly. Female mostly gray with red belly, perhaps most similar to Slaty-tailed Trogon but note pale blue eyering, gray bill, and thin white bars on undertail. Limited range. Look for a bird sitting upright and still at middle levels in the forest, slowly turning head searching for prey. Usually single or in pairs. Song is a fairly fast, accelerating series of cluck notes.
Grande Comore Drongo
Dicrurus fuscipennis
Bold, glossy-black fork-tailed bird with a red eye. A rare endangered species that is confined to the island of Grand Comoro. Found locally at lower elevations in plantations, secondary forest, and scrub. Perches prominently on open perches, swooping out to catch insects on the wing. Song is a repeated sequence of whistles, creaks, and rasps. Somewhat similar to Grand Comoro Bulbul, but darker, with a forked tail, and without an orange bill.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.