Madagascar Yellowbrow

A fairly small bird of wooded areas on the Bay Islands. Low crest is flattened at the front and rounded at the back. Male is glossy black with a purplish-blue iridescence. Female is medium gray above, pale gray below with brownish flight feathers and a darker mask, contrasting with the pale throat. Male similar to male Shining Flycatcher, but Biak is found in forest rather than waterside thickets and is smaller and less glossy. Often found in pairs and female has gray rather than rufous upperparts. Voice, a simple up-and-down whistled song and raspy call.

Gradually increasing after near extinction in the 20th century but still the rarest of the three North Pacific albatross species. Adult is striking: white overall, with dark wings, white upperwing coverts, a rich yellow nape, and bright pink bill. Juvenile blackish brown with pink bill; young birds attain increasing amounts of white in plumage as they age. Forages over a large pelagic range but sometimes seen from shore.

This long-tailed game bird is native to Asia and has been introduced in many other parts of the world. Male has fleshy, red facial wattles, iridescent blue neck, and richly colored red and golden underparts with dark spots; his namesake white neck ring is indistinct on some birds. Female is buffy-brown, heavily marked with black, and usually shows some white markings around the eye. In much of its introduced range, including North America, there are no similar species. Elsewhere, note male’s blue neck and heavily spotted body, and female’s spotted or chevroned (not barred) underparts and mostly plain face lacking strong red markings. Found in farmland, scrub, and along the edge of forest, and often gives a loud, abrupt rasping call that draws attention to its presence. Japanese birds are now treated as a separate species, Green Pheasant.