Merida Wren

A large cuckoo endemic to Sulawesi. Long tail and red eye. Male is all black; females have a brown back andbarred underparts with white stripe on the face. Found in forest and edge where it hides in dense canopy and is difficult to see. The only koel on Sulawesi. Male separated from other black birds by long, pointed black tail. Female from other cuckoos by white stripe on face and barring. Voice a typical “koel!” call, or short series of rising and falling “woo” notes.

A small brown dove with a disproportionately long, broad tail. Both sexes have a dark brown back and wings and an orange-brown head and underparts. Female has several large black dots on the chest that the male lacks. Like most cuckoo-doves, elusive and often difficult to see well in the gloom of the undergrowth of the broadleaf evergreen forests this species prefers. Gives a long series of bouncy hoots.

Small but strong-billed cisticola that is rufous on the cap and the back of the neck, rich gray-brown on the back, and pale buff below. The back is plain in breeding plumage but has blurry streaks in non-breeding plumage. Note the black band and pale tips across the end of the tail. Found locally in savanna and dry woodland, mostly in the grassy understory. Very similar to Red-pate Cisticola, and best distinguished by song, but also has a duller rufous cap and more buffy underparts, especially the undertail. Also similar to Foxy and Rufous Cisticolas, but larger, with a rufous cap that contrasts with the gray-brown back. The song is a short, high-pitched trill, sometimes followed by several whistled notes.