Guadalcanal Crow

Tiny songbird of mountain and hill forests; ranges from the Himalayas south to the Malay Peninsula on the Asian mainland, with an isolated population in Taiwan’s highlands. Adult male is dark blue above and pale creamy white below, with a black stripe leading down the belly from a brilliantly red patch like a bloodstain on the breast. Female is much plainer, brownish-olive above and off-white below; lacks the bright white throat of Plain and female Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers. Often forages at flowers blooming in the canopy. Gives a high, thin, up-and-down “tsee’ip, tsee’ip, tsee’ip” and a rising series of ticks (often ending with more metallic notes); calls include dry tick notes and high, thin “tseet”s.

Very small, striped buffy heron of wetlands and lake edges with dense reeds and rushes. Boldly striped back pattern is distinctive. In flight shows contrasting broad rusty trailing edge to wings. Usually seen as single birds hidden in reeds or making short flights low over reeds or across patches of open water. Clambers easily and stealthily; hunts from perches over water, where sits patiently before stabbing at fish. Mostly silent.

Ethereal song rings through breeding grounds in northern spruce forest; found in thickets and forest understory during migration, when it tends to be shy and hard to find. To distinguish from other Catharus thrushes, note very faint eyering and plain gray face. Small bill with yellow base. Grayer face than Swainson's Thrush and lacks buffy eyering. Nearly identical to Bicknell's Thrush, which shows slight reddish wash to plumage. Song is a stuttering series of descending phrases with a notably wiry tone. Call a high-pitched, piercing "pzeeer."