Short-toed Coucal
Centropus rectunguis
Burly long-tailed cuckoo. Adult is coal-black with bright rufous wings and back. Juvenile is messier-looking, with extensive pale barring over much of the upper body. Very similar in appearance to Greater Coucal, but Short-toed is smaller and shorter-tailed. Prefers dense lowland and foothill rainforest but can also be found in scrubby or grassy areas with extensive cover. Gives sad muffled hoots.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Centropus rectunguis
- Authority
- Strickland, 1847
- Order
- Cuculiformes
- Family
- Cuculidae
- Genus
- Centropus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-quilled Rock-Pigeon
Petrophassa albipennis
Large rusty brown pigeon with faint pale speckles on its plumage. In flight shows white wing panels, and flies with a loud clattering of wings. Found only on the sandstone areas of the Kimberley and Ord-Victoria regions. Often roosts on high rocky cliffs or on top of sandstone towers; comes down to the sandy ground in the early morning and evening.
Little Tinamou
Crypturellus soui
Furtive, almost tailless small game bird that lives on the ground in humid tropical lowlands. Favors forest edge and dense secondary growth rather than forest interior. When disturbed runs rather than flies. Very rarely seen (sometimes crosses quiet roads or trails), but tremulous whistles are often heard, especially early and late in the day. Plumage is dark brownish overall with grayer head and whitish throat.
Scarlet-naped Myzomela
Myzomela lafargei
Mostly yellowish with a black head, back, tail, and shoulders. Wing feathers fringed with yellow. Red cap is variable. Female is plainly dull yellow. Found in most forested or scrubby habitats. Similar to Olive-backed Sunbird, but female is duller yellow, and male has a black head and back. Voice includes a sweet, high-pitched “tsip-tsip.”
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