Nicobar Sparrowhawk

A rare, medium-sized honeyeater of lowland forests. Warm-brown above, orange-brown below, pinkish legs, a pale reddish eye and a dagger-shaped bill. Searches dead leaves for insects in mixed-species flocks. Similar in color and size to some shrikethrushes, and also Plain Honeyeater, but Tawny Straightbill has a thinner, sharper bill and a reddish eye. Song, a descending series of upslurred whistles. Call, a “whip!” note.

Tiny hummingbird of tepui highlands. Both sexes distinctive: males have long cheek tufts with black spotting, while females are heavily streaked below. Both have a white rump band like other coquettes. Found only in humid forest and scrub in the tepui region. Feeds on nectar by infiltrating territories of larger hummingbirds; also presumably eats tiny insects. May be seen resting on exposed perches. Both sexes are darker than other coquettes in range, and this species typically occurs at higher elevations than others.

A short-tailed understory robin with a bright yellow-orange throat. Also shows a dark-green back, buff belly, and a white spot in front of the eye. Most often encountered by its song: a duet, in which the male gives high-pitched whistles and the female makes an accompanying chatter. Similar to Orange-breasted Forest Robin (potentially very limited overlap in range), but underparts more extensively yellowish-orange. Otherwise most likely to be confused with Lowland Akalat, but can always be distinguished by the white spot in front of the eye, as well as the dark-green rather than rufous-brown back, and the buff rather than white belly.