Guadalcanal Dwarf-Kingfisher

Ceyx nigromaxilla

A small kingfisher with deep purplish-blue upperparts and fiery orange underparts, a white neck spot, and bright orange legs. Bill is blackish with a reddish base. Prefers mature and dense secondary forest, often perching low. No other dwarf-kingfisher shares its range. Told from Common Kingfisher by smaller size and red base to bill. Call apparently nearly identical to that of other Melanesian dwarf-kingfishers: a high-pitched, weak repetitive whistle, often given in flight.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Ceyx nigromaxilla
Authority
Rothschild & Hartert, EJO, 1905
Order
Coraciiformes
Family
Alcedinidae
Genus
Ceyx

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
declining

Photos

Distribution

Other Birds

Mouse-colored Penduline-Tit

Mouse-colored Penduline-Tit

Anthoscopus musculus

A tiny drab bird with a sharp bill. Note gray back, whitish underparts, and faintly black-speckled forehead. Generally uncommon in dry savanna and thornscrub, usually found in pairs or small flocks. Similar to Sennar and African Penduline-Tits, but grayer on the back and paler below. Can also be mistaken for Yellow-bellied or Yellow-vented Eremomelas, but has a shorter and thinner bill and no yellow on the underparts. Vocalizations include high-pitched “sit” notes and long trills. 

Brown Skua

Brown Skua

Stercorarius antarcticus

Large, dark brown skua with a very robust beak. Several subspecies vary in plumage from largely dark to mottled pale brown. In flight, exhibits a broad white patch on both upperwings and underwings. Usually seen well offshore, less often towards the coast; often follows boats. Lacks the capped appearance of Great and Chilean Skuas, and has darker underwing coverts than those species. The dark morph of South Polar Skua has colder tones and a smaller bill, but field separation is difficult.

Brown-throated Wattle-eye

Brown-throated Wattle-eye

Platysteira cyanea

Small black-and-white bird with a bright red patch of bare skin above the eye. Males have a black breast band, and females a brown throat. Found in thick woodland, gallery forest, and mangroves. The song is usually given as a duet: a descending series of melancholy whistles from the male, and lower rasping notes from the female. Similar to Black-throated Wattle-eye, but shows a white slash on the wing, and the female has a brown rather than white throat. Separated from batises by the red wattle and, in females, by the brown throat.

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