Sulawesi Serpent-Eagle
Spilornis rufipectus
A large, broad-winged dark raptor. Adults show a short crest, a blackish head with yellow facial skin, a chocolate-brown back, and rust-colored underparts with extensive white speckling. In flight appears blackish with a conspicuous single broad white bar on the rear of the wings and tail. Immatures pale, with dark mask, boldly streaked underparts, and dark chocolate upperside. In flight, note extensive dark markings on underwings. Inhabits forests, edges, rice paddies, and sparsely wooded areas from lowlands to mountains. Confined to Sulawesi and the Banggai and Sula Islands. Speckled rusty underside identifies perched adults, dark mask perched immatures. In flight, distinguished from all other local raptors by white bar on rear wing and tail of adults, and by bold streaking below in immatures. Gives strident “kew” calls, sometimes with inflection: “kew-di-lew.”
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Spilornis rufipectus
- Authority
- Gould, 1858
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Spilornis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Two-banded Warbler
Myiothlypis bivittata
Small, yellowish bird with a fine black bill and distinctive black stripes on head. Mostly green above and yellow below; has rufous or orange crown bordered by black, but crown color can be difficult to ascertain. Note olive eyebrow becoming yellow in front of eye, and bright pinkish-yellow legs. Inhabits dense understory of foothill forests along the eastern slope of the southern Andes and in the tepui region. Usually occurs in pairs or small family groups that forage actively for insects, often joining mixed-species flocks. Song in tepuis is a series of chips followed by a high-pitched, screeching note. In southern part of range, song is very different: a rich rollicking series of notes that may vaguely recall House Wren and is often given by pairs as a duet. In southern Andes, most similar to Golden-bellied Warbler but has olive (not entirely yellow) eyebrow; also similar to Golden-crowned Warbler but typically occurs at higher elevations and has olive (not whitish) eyebrow.
Gray-backed Fiscal
Lanius excubitoroides
Large, long-tailed gray, black, and white shrike. The male has completely white underparts, while the female can show a small rufous flank patch. Large white patches at the base of the tail are conspicuous in flight. In the eastern part of the range, found in woodland, savanna, and cultivation. In the west, found only in arid thorn savanna. Always in small and conspicuous groups. The vocalization is given in chorus by a group: a fast, jangling mixture of slurred calls. Distinguished from other black-masked, gray-backed shrikes by the black line connecting the black wing and black face-mask, and by the large white patches in the base of the tail.
Amur Falcon
Falco amurensis
The male of this small falcon is sooty gray with rufous-orange thighs and vent. The females are duller gray above, and their white underparts are well marked with dark chevrons. The combination of reddish-orange eyering, cere, and feet distinguishes them from all other falcons. These champion migrants breed in eastern Siberia and winter in southern Africa, often congregating in huge roosts on passage through India. They feed mainly on insects that they either catch on the wing or pick from the ground.
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