Banggai Scops-Owl

Rather drab but distinctive little bird: note slender, thrush-like bill (not stout, like superficially similar sparrows), blue-gray head sides, streaked back. Usually seen as singles or pairs, hopping on lawns or paths with distinctive shuffling gait. Found in a variety of open scrubby and wooded habitats, from low bleak heathland to parks, gardens, and farmland with hedges. Undistinguished, slightly tinny, rambling song has an even, warbled cadence; distinctive when learned. A Eurasian native, introduced to New Zealand and a few surrounding islands.

Small, long-tailed songbird; similar to other gnatcatchers but darker gray overall. Male has black cap; female shows brownish tones to plumage. Underside of tail helpful in identification: almost entirely black with narrow white edges; much less white than both Black-tailed and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Very restricted range; found in shrubby sagebrush chaparral, usually in pairs. Listen for harsh scolding calls.

Tiny bird, smaller than warblers, with a distinctive combination of black-edged golden crown stripe, big dark eye giving impression of "innocent" face, ,and white wingbar offset by black wing patch. Resides in coniferous and mixed woodland, forest, plantations, and gardens with conifers; migrants show up in hedgerows and areas without conifers. In autumn and winter, often travels with foraging flocks of tits and other small woodland birds. Inconspicuous but active, often high in the canopy. High-pitched jingling song has a distinctly up-and-down quality; calls are likewise thin and high-pitched.