Little Pied Flycatcher
Ficedula westermanni
Male is strikingly unique with his bold black-and-white patterning. Female is unique in her plainness: somber gray-brown above with pale underparts and a slightly cinnamon tint to the rump. Breeds in broadleaf, coniferous, and mixed forests in foothills and montane areas. Himalayan birds descend into lower foothills in the winter. Sallies from exposed perches in the upper and middle levels of the forest and moves with mixed flocks in the non-breeding season. Vocalizations are variable, and include a series of high notes followed by buzzing and tinkling notes (“chi-chi-chi-brr-titititi”), a steadily accelerating series of chiming notes, and a series of clear bell-like phrases followed by a short buzzy sputtering. Calls include high notes and rolling low rattles.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Ficedula westermanni
- Authority
- (Sharpe, 1888)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Ficedula
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Singing Parrot
Geoffroyus heteroclitus
A mostly green medium-sized parrot with a contrasting head, gray in females and yellow in males. Shows a blue underwing in flight. Inhabits lowland forest edge, including coconut plantations, parks, and gardens, up to at least 1750 meters of elevation. Bulkier than Cardinal, White-naped, Yellow-bibbed, and Purple-bellied Lories, with slower wingbeats, and lacks the mostly red color of those species. The similar Eclectus Parrot is larger with a bigger bill, and male is also green but has a red underwing. Singing Parrot’s voice includes a wide variety of harsh cries and a whistling bell-like song.
Long-tailed Paradigalla
Paradigalla carunculata
A large, fairly long-tailed bird of montane forest on the Bird’s Head of New Guinea. All black plumage with iridescence on the head, fairly long bill, distinctive, yellow wattle between the eye and the bill. Note the blue line and a small purple dot below the base of the mouth. Feeds on fruit but also probes mossy branches for insects. Other similar sized black birds co-occur, but none have the yellow face wattle. Voice, a long, mournful, monotone whistle.
Rock Pipit
Anthus petrosus
Plumage relatively dull and dark: grayish brown to grayish above with weak darker streaking; dingy whitish below with heavy and rather blurry dark streaking. Also note the dark legs (pink on smaller and buffier Meadow Pipit, which often occurs in coastal grassland adjacent to Rock Pipits). Song is a bland, repetitive, high-pitched series, often accelerating towards the end. Call a high, lisping, slightly harsh "ssiip", very similar to that of Water Pipit. Like other pipits, walks strongly and often pumps its tail a little. Found along rocky coasts; infrequent inland. Often seen on rocks and adjacent areas with short grass.
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