Sepik-Ramu Shrikethrush
Colluricincla tappenbecki
A chunky bird with a thick dark bill. Quite plain: gray-brown on the upperparts and buffy below, with indistinct breast streaking. The breast pattern varies geographically: gray in some areas, contrasting with the buffy belly, and buff in some areas, the same color as the belly. Found at low and middle elevations in humid forest, including secondary forest. Rich, melodious, variable song consists of several penetrating whistles, generally in an up-and-down pattern. Somewhat similar to Rusty Pitohui, but smaller, with a dark rather than pale eye. Similar in size and shape to Sooty Shrikethrush, but never as uniformly blackish. Also similar to Gray Shrikethrush, but smaller, shorter-tailed, and browner, usually with more distinct breast streaking.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Colluricincla tappenbecki
- Authority
- Reichenow, 1898
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pachycephalidae
- Genus
- Colluricincla
Photos
Other Birds

Medium Tree-Finch
Camarhynchus pauper
A critically endangered Galápagos finch found only on the island of Floreana. Bill is moderately curved on both upper and lower edges, and slightly longer than it is deep. Male has a black hood, brownish-olive upperparts, and a pale belly. Female is tan with whitish underparts. Both sexes have faint streaking on the breast. Bill is black on breeding male and orange on female and non-breeding male. Large Tree-Finch has larger and more bulbous bill. Small Tree-Finch has slightly smaller bill and body. Identification is much easier when more than one species is present to allow direct comparison. Medium Tree-Finch inhabits forest mainly in the highlands but is occasionally seen closer to the coast, where it may be only a seasonal visitor.

Rusty Blackbird
Euphagus carolinus
Rusty edges to feathers and pale eyebrow in winter contrast with blackish feather bases. Breeding males are glossy black. Shorter tail than Common Grackle. Thinner bill than Red-winged Blackbird. Found in wooded swamps. Often in flocks; frequently mixes with Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackle in winter. Look for flocks perched at tops of trees bordering marshes and listen for their calls to help pick them out from large flocks of blackbirds.

Chilean Hawk
Astur chilensis
Uncommon and elusive hawk of Patagonian forest in central and southern Chile and neighboring parts of Argentina. Adult is mostly gray with darker crown and upperparts; underparts are mottled or barred with white and chestnut. Rufous thighs are often hidden from view. Immature is browner with thick, dark streaks on the underparts. No similar raptor is found in its range. Usually stays inside forest and almost never soars. Feeds mainly on birds. Formerly treated as a subspecies of Bicolored Hawk; the two species are not known to overlap.
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