Timor Oriole
Oriolus melanotis
Male is a distinctive oriole with a green head, dark mask, and orange-red bill. Duller female is brown above and paler below, with a dark mask and black bill. Juveniles are heavily streaked. Singles and pairs can be found in lowland forest patches, woodlands, mangroves, and cultivated areas. Females resemble Helmeted Friarbird, but lacks that species’ casque, naked facial skin, and a prominent nostril on the blunter-tipped bill. Gives a “k’WOW” and descending “k’we-hoo.”
Taxonomy
The Wetar oriole (O. finschi), found on Wetar and Atauro Islands, was originally described as a separate species but was later reclassified as a subspecies. However, more recent revisions to the IOC World Bird List have found it to be a distinct species. The two species were formerly grouped together as olive-brown oriole.
- Scientific name
- Oriolus melanotis
- Authority
- (Bonaparte, 1850)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Oriolidae
- Genus
- Oriolus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Mishana Tyrannulet
Zimmerius villarejoi
Uncommon flycatcher with a highly restricted range in northern Peru. It is known from white sand forest near Iquitos and from Andean foothills in the vicinity of the cities of Moyobamba and Tarapoto. Plumage is mostly yellowish-olive with a pale bill and eye and yellow fringes to the wing feathers. Very similar to Red-billed Tyrannulet, but usually shows an olive (not gray) crown; voice is a more reliable way to separate the two species. Listen for a high, piping whistle given alone or in pairs. Calls have a rasping quality in the lowland part of the range. Inhabits forest canopy.
White-crowned Penduline-Tit
Remiz coronatus
While the male does have a pale crown, his broad, round-edged black mask is far more noticeable. Female is plainer, with a brown crown and a small pale mask; the similar European and Chinese Penduline-Tit females have darker, more prominent masks. Breeds in shrubs and low trees in wet areas and winters in reedbeds, forests, and scrubby areas. Call is a drawn-out plaintive whistle, and song is short, ending on a decisive “chip” note.
Common Chiffchaff
Phylloscopus collybita
A very plain leaf warbler found in a variety of wooded and scrubby habitats, often near water. Best identified by voice: song is a slightly jerky double-noted chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff..., very different from song of the similar Willow Warbler. Relative to Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff is often duller, more brownish overall with weaker pale eyebrow, dark legs, and tends to habitually dip its tail. Also similar to Booted and Sykes’s Warbler, but these are browner toned with darkish legs and bill.
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