Northern Red-billed Hornbill
Tockus erythrorhynchus
A fairly small, slim, long-tailed hornbill. Note the red bill, the pink or red bare facial skin, and the heavily spotted back. The eye is dark in most of the range, but birds in some parts of East Africa show a pale eye. White patches on the wing and outer tail are conspicuous in flight. Found in savanna and thornscrub. Similar to Western and Tanzanian Red-billed Hornbills, but separated from both by the pale rather than black bare skin around the eye. Call is a series of clucks that starts with single notes, then becomes louder and more emphatic, with doubled notes.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Tockus erythrorhynchus
- Authority
- (Temminck, 1823)
- Order
- Bucerotiformes
- Family
- Bucerotidae
- Genus
- Tockus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Chiloe Wigeon
Mareca sibilatrix
Handsome and distinctive duck. Sexes look similar, but male averages brighter. Note the striking face pattern (duller on young and on adults in late summer), bright rusty sides, and bold white forewing patches that show in flight. Often common in wetlands, marshes, at lakes, and along river mouths. Associates readily with other waterfowl, but more often seen on shore, grazing in grassy areas.
Green Longtail
Urolais epichlorus
A distinctive apalis-like bird of scrub and forest edge in the mountains, where it is commonly encountered in small family groups. Dingy white below and uniformly green above. Named for its long, thin green tail feathers that can be longer than the rest of the body. While tail length varies by age and sex, it always appears relatively long. Song is a distinctive, rising series of psip-like notes, “ree-Ree-Ree-REE!”, sometimes given with a duetted “tik-tik-tik-tik.”
Cory's Shearwater
Calonectris borealis
Large, lumbering shearwater. Diagnostic yellow bill is often visible from quite a long distance. Look for warm pale brown upperparts and clean white belly and underwings. Also note little contrast between the brown head and white throat (compare with distinct capped appearance of Great Shearwater). Lazier wingbeats than other large shearwaters, especially in calm conditions; wings look crooked with wrists pushed forward in flight. Forms mixed flocks with other shearwaters, especially when feeding. Fairly common in warm water in the Atlantic Ocean; increasingly frequent in cooler water, ranging further northward in recent years. Very similar to closely related and recently split Scopoli’s Shearwater. Can be identified with caution, and often by analysis of photographs, by the solidly dark outer part of the underwing.
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