Sri Lanka Blue-Magpie

A medium-sized, long-legged bird of lowland forest undergrowth on Manus in the Admiralty Islands. Mainly jet black with a red belly, extending to the center of the chest, a blue wing patch extending down from the shoulder and some green on the flight feathers. Unmistakable. Feeds on the ground, but usually sings from up in the trees. Song, a 2-note “wow-wow!” repeated at intervals.

Sparrowlike ground-dweller; crouches low to the ground and walks with pattering footsteps. Breeding male is gorgeous and unmistakable: yellow bill, black face, broad white eyebrow, and bright rufous nape unlike any other bird. Females and nonbreeding birds are much more subtle. Habitat and habits provide good clues: often in flocks in winter, sometimes mixed with Horned Larks or Snow Buntings, on barren landscapes such as beaches or dirt fields. To separate from other longspurs, look for combination of face pattern, rufous nape, and rufous wing panel with white tips. Breeds on Arctic tundra, where males sing a tinkling warble. Can also be heard giving "teew" notes and rattle calls like Snow Buntings and other longspurs.

A small, dark, rufous-cinnamon roller with a chunky yellow bill. In flight it resembles a small falcon, but note its deep wingbeats and undulating flight. Pairs are partial migrants with complex movements; found within savanna, broadleaved woodland, riverine forest, and rainforest edge. It sits on tall bare snags and prefers to hawk insects above the canopy. Its distinctive calls include harsh, scratchy “grrrrrr” and “k-weeek, k-weeek” notes. The similar Blue-throated Roller is smaller, has a blue throat, and is browner under the tail.