East Coast Akalat
Sheppardia gunningi
Variable small robin-like skulker of the forest floor and mid-story. Upperparts are rusty-brown and underparts are buff-apricot to rufous (varying in intensity); some populations have a white belly and throat. Broad eyebrow is blue-gray with a white spot above the lores. Pairs can be common but inconspicuous in lowland primary and secondary forest, preferring the understory, but when vocal it sits calling from mid-canopy. Song a sweet rolling repeated “tuwuyu-teelu”. Does not overlap with other akalats in range or habitat choice.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Sheppardia gunningi
- Authority
- Haagner, 1909
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Sheppardia
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Unique, medium-sized antbird with a spectacular heavy and markedly upturned bill. Male is slate gray with a black throat, breast, and tail, and black dotted wings. Female is chestnut with a darker tail and buffy spotted wings. Rare, local, and hard to see, typically skulking in the dark understory of second growth and mature forest in foothills, often in areas with dense bamboo. Best found by voice; song a series of short notes accelerating “deeu-deee-dee-dee-eet-et.”
Regent Parrot
Polytelis anthopeplus
Large, long-tailed, distinctive parrot of open inland areas with scattered woodlands, where it breeds in hollows of large trees. When perched, note greenish-yellow body, black wing with red and yellow patches, and red bill. In flight, black flight feathers and tail contrast strongly with yellow wing coverts and rump. Calls include a loud, squeaky chatter.
Rusty-bellied Shortwing
Brachypteryx hyperythra
A very small, dark bird of dark undergrowth in evergreen forests. The male has gray-blue upperparts, bright orange underparts, and a short white eyebrow. The female is grayish-brown above, with duller orangish underparts. Very shy and inconspicuous. The jingling song consists of high-pitched, bell-like, tinkling notes that accelerate rapidly towards the end.
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