Willis's Antbird
Cercomacroides laeta
Small, perky antbird. Males are slate-gray with an often-concealed white patch on their backs and narrow white tail tips (lacking in the western subspecies). Females have an olive-gray back and are tawny-buff below. Found at the forest edge and in second growth, where it forages in pairs in the understory and is not normally associated with mixed-species flocks or army-ant swarms. The similar Dusky Antbird has a white tipped tail in the area of overlap with the western subspecies. The song is easy to recognize, a sharp, high, positively joyful “puh-wéedi-wéedi-wéedi-wéedi.”
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Cercomacroides laeta
- Authority
- (Todd, 1920)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thamnophilidae
- Genus
- Cercomacroides
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Rufous-banded Honeyeater
Conopophila albogularis
Small honeyeater with white throat and orange-red breast band. Face is gray, back is brown, and belly is white. Feeds on insects and nectar in woodlands, often near water. Also found in mangroves. Juveniles lack the rusty breast band and also have pink on the bill. Found at lower altitudes in northern Australia and New Guinea. This species is abundant in parks and gardens in Darwin.
Gray-backed Cisticola
Cisticola subruficapilla
Medium-sized, streak-backed cisticola of uplands. Varies geographically: gray-backed and streak-breasted in the south, and rufous-backed and plain-breasted in the north. Found in fynbos and karoo habitats, usually in areas with a mix of rocks, shrubs, and grass. Generally inconspicuous; seen singly or in pairs. Song is a short, explosive, accelerating trill. Calls include a rising, two-part “chu-cheee”. Very similar to Wailing Cisticola, but has a different voice, a smaller bill, less buffy underparts, and doesn’t show rufous in the wing.
Royal Cinclodes
Cinclodes aricomae
Medium-sized dark brown bird with a restricted range. Chunky and relatively long-tailed, with a reddish wing contrasting with its dark chocolate brown body, and a white eyebrow and cheek stripe. Found in humid groves of Polylepis trees, where it forages on or near the ground, looking around mossy rocks and roots for its prey. Lacks the small white or cream patch on wing present in similar cinclodes species. Also note the darker brown body and thicker bill than other cinclodes in range.
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