Orange Bullfinch
Pyrrhula aurantiaca
A small, brightly colored bullfinch. The male is orange with black mask, wings, and tail. The female is similar but duller, with gray behind the neck, a pale brown back, and yellow-brown underparts. Found in open conifer forests. Uses its stubby bill to look for berries, buds, and seeds as it forages on the ground. The song is a pleasant jumble of short, mellow whistles and fluting notes. The call includes soft “tew” notes delivered in ones and twos.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Pyrrhula aurantiaca
- Authority
- Gould, 1858
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Pyrrhula
Range and habitat
Orange bullfinch are scarcely found in the forests of Astore District and Diamer and Kaghan and Neelum Valley District. During summer and spring seasons they are found in fir, pine, birch and mixed forest at 3,500m, while they come down to 1,550m to 2,350m in winter season.
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Behavior
They feed primarily on the ground, in snow-covered areas, and at the base of trees and bushes. Flocks often fly into tall trees at regular intervals and then return to the same ground. It feeds primarily on the hard-shelled seeds, buds, fruits, and shoots of trees, as well as large herbaceous shrubs, including the buds and catkins of birch, willow, and cherry.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Green-backed Flycatcher
Ficedula elisae
A colorful, green-suffused flycatcher. Adult male looks like a faded version of a male Narcissus Flycatcher, with bright yellow eyebrows and underparts; greenish tinge to the upperparts is distinctive and unmistakable. Overall paler and less contrasting patterning, combined with prominent dark eyes, conveys a gentle appearance. Female very similar to female Narcissus, but has a faded-yellow belly and a green-tinged head and back; brighter female Narcissus Flycatchers can have a green tinge, too, but it is usually weaker and restricted to the upper half of the back. Breeds in hilly and submontane mixed broadleaf forests, and winters in open forests and forest edges. Song is a rambling series of somewhat scratchy-sounding warbling notes.
Eastern Paradise-Whydah
Vidua paradisaea
The breeding male is buff, chestnut, and black with a 21-centimeter tail that is laterally flattened with both short bulging feathers and long, tapering dagger-like feathers. The female and non-breeding male have a strongly contrasting black-and-white head, including a characteristic dark bill and a double “C” pattern under the ear. The males aggressively hold territories, but small groups forage together in dry and moist savanna. After breeding, they flock with other seedeaters. This whydah gives dry chip calls and imitates the calls of the Green-winged Pytilia, which it parasitizes. The Broad-tailed Paradise-Whydah differs from the Eastern Paradise-Whydah as follows: the breeding male has a shorter broader tail; the non-breeding male and female have a paler bill and a plainer facial pattern.
Visayan Broadbill
Sarcophanops samarensis
A medium-sized bird of lowland forest on Bohol, Leyte, and Samar islands. Has a pale blue bill and deeper blue eye wattle, a black face, a streaked crown, a reddish-brown back, a dark wing with a pinkish to white wingbar, a thin white collar with some scaling above, and a reddish rump and tail. Underparts are white in the female and pinkish in the male. Makes short sallies for insects. Can be found in pairs, small groups, or sometimes mixed-species flocks. Unmistakable. Voice includes a plaintive whistle and a sharp “tyik!”
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.