Vogelkop Melidectes
Melidectes leucostephes
A fairly large honeyeater of mid-montane forest and edge. Black body with olive wing feathers, boldly patterned with white scales on the back, flanks and dappled white on the chest. Large pale blue area of bare facial skin mainly behind the eye and a red wattle on the side of the throat. Co-occurs with Ornate and Cinnamon-browed Melidectes, but Vogelkop has a distinctive facial pattern with pale bill and white lines extending above and below to form a crescent shape. Calls include, loud downward whistles or parrotlike squawking.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Melidectes leucostephes
- Authority
- (Meyer, AB, 1874)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Meliphagidae
- Genus
- Melidectes
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Eurasian Kestrel
Falco tinnunculus
Small falcon with distinctive male plumage: gray head, rusty back, gray tail with broad black tip. Female is brownish above, with barring on the back, wings, and tail. Note rather pointed wingtips (unlike rounded wings of Accipiter hawks), and distinct dark spotting on the breast. Inhabits open and lightly wooded country, farmlands, grasslands, and heathlands; often seen over grassy areas beside roads and at airports. Perches on wires and posts, and typically hunts by hovering, at times fairly high overhead. Very similar to Lesser Kestrel.
Black-goggled Tanager
Trichothraupis melanops
Restless tanager found in the undergrowth of forests and second growth; usually accompanies mixed-species flocks. Males have a black mask and a yellow crown stripe. Males also have an olive-gray head and back and are buff below with dark wings and tail. Females lack the yellow crown and mask and are generally more cinnamon below.
Hooded Pitohui
Pitohui dichrous
A medium-sized bird of foothill and lower montane forest and edge. Tawny colored body with black head, chest, wing and tail. Remeniscent of Orchard Oriole. Almost identical to some races of Southern and Northern Variable Pitohui but Hooded is usually found at higher altitude. Hooded is best told by voice which is usually lower. Voice, a complex array of low, oriolelike warbles, wolf-whistles and clicks. Some vocalizations sound like “pi-to-hui”.
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