Yellow-breasted Apalis

As with all screech-owls, much easier to identify by voice: a short rapid trill with a pop at the end. If you’re lucky enough to see one, look for an overall grayish-brown or rufous bird with fine markings, including thin streaks on underparts. Black border to face. Sexes alike. Found in wooded habitats, sometimes coming out into open shrubby fields or gardens with only a few scattered trees. Usually the most common screech-owl in range.

A medium-sized dove of lowland secondary forest on Tawi-Tawi Island, where it is the only brown-dove. Dark brown above with a gray head, purplish iridescence on the back of the neck, rufous-brown underparts from the throat to the belly, white under the base of the tail, and a pale gray tail tip. Does not resemble any other similarly sized doves in its range. Sings an accelerating series on the same pitch, ending in a trill, “dup-dup-dup-du-du-d-d-drrrrr,” reminiscent of a ping-pong ball falling on a table.

Medium-sized bright green parakeet mainly restricted to Mangere and Little Mangere Islands on the Chatham Islands of New Zealand. Note distinctive yellow crown above a red forehead. Due to hybridization with Red-crowned Parakeet, some birds have red extending to and beyond the eye and a crown that varies from yellow-orange to orange-red. Males are larger than females. Will feed out in the open on flowering flax as well as in forest habitats. Commonly seen on the ground, scratching the surface like a chicken. Chatters quietly while feeding and often calls in flight. Forms small flocks in autumn and winter. Red-crowned Parakeet is present in the same habitat but lacks yellow on crown and has an obvious red band extending to, and beyond, the eye.