Long-billed Rhabdornis
Rhabdornis grandis
A medium-sized, long-billed bird of foothill and montane forest in northern Luzon with a white throat and belly, a brown back, rufous wings and tail, a black mask with a thin white eyebrow above, a gray crown, and brown sides broadly streaked white. Similar to Stripe-sided Rhabdornis, but usually found at higher elevations, and crown is gray rather than streaked white. Voice includes a high-pitched “tsip!”
Identification
A medium-sized, long-billed bird with a white throat and belly, a brown back, rufous wings and tail, a black mask with a thin white eyebrow above, a gray crown, and brown sides broadly streaked white.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Rhabdornis grandis
- Authority
- Salomonsen, 1953
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Sturnidae
- Genus
- Rhabdornis
Range and habitat
Its natural habitat is tropical mid-elevation and high elevation montane forest. The IUCN lists it as a Least-concern species but despite this the population is still said to be declining due to habitat loss and fragmentation.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
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Metallura aeneocauda
Small, dark green hummingbird with a short, straight bill. Found at the edges of elfin forest and in humid shrublands above the treeline. Male has an iridescent green throat patch; females lack the throat patch and are duller below, with brownish underparts. Males have a more bronzy, scaled throat and breast and a greener tail than the similar Tyrian Metaltail; female Scaled Metaltails are darker below than that species, without a strong orangey-buff coloration on the throat and breast.
Makira Cicadabird
Edolisoma salomonis
Male is light powder-gray with darker wing feathers and tail and a dark patch in front of the eye. Female is powder-gray above and vivid reddish below. Prefers primary forest, and appears to avoid secondary growth and scrub. Common call is a loud “chi-beet” or “pity-you.”
Bay Coucal
Centropus celebensis
A reddish-brown cuckoo with a long, often shaggy-looking tail. Juvenile shows a pale eye and a paler breast and throat than adults. The species favors vine tangles within forest and forest edge in lowlands and foothills, where it is usually encountered singly or in pairs. The entirely brown body, lacking black, separates this species from Lesser Coucal. Song is a series of “hoot” notes that often encourages other nearby coucals to respond. Alarm call is a harsh, short rasping “burr.”
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