Maroon-chinned Fruit-Dove
Ptilinopus epius
A large, long-tailed gray-and-green fruit-dove confined to Sulawesi. Head and most of underside pale gray, with a salmon wash on the belly and a dark, vinous-red base to the undertail. Shows a small maroon patch on throat and a yellow bill. Juveniles duller, and greener on crown and neck. Found singly or in pairs in upper levels of forest understory within lowlands and foothills. Maroon chin, yellow bill, and largely pale underparts make it easily recognized within its limited range. Song is a series of staccato whoop notes, variable in length: “whoop-whoop-whoop-whoop-whoop.”
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Ptilinopus epius
- Authority
- (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832)
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Columbidae
- Genus
- Ptilinopus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Variable Goshawk
Tachyspiza hiogaster
A common, mid-sized raptor of forest edge in the lowlands and foothills. Three distinct color morphs occur. The common one has slate-gray above and rufous below, plus all gray and all white morphs. Scans for prey from a perch. Similar to Collared Sparrowhawk and Brown Goshawk, but Variable is larger and lack any rufous collar. Common call, a quick series or regular squeaky calls, “ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki!”
Southern Nutcracker
Nucifraga hemispila
Large, distinctive corvid, roughly the size of a Eurasian Jay. Note the long and heavy bill, white-flecked face, and black cap. Note unspotted dark brown back and sides. Short tail, white vent, and white tail markings evident during undulating, woodpecker-like flight. Inhabits coniferous and mixed forests, from lowlands up into high montane forests. Often stores nuts for the winter. Mostly resident but large numbers may irrupt periodically out of the normal range in response to food shortages. Gives a variety of calls, especially during the breeding season, including harsh grating rasps, as well as quieter “mumbling” calls and mimicry. Formerly grouped with Northern Nutcracker under the more generic “Eurasian Nutcracker.”
Forbes's Forest Rail
Rallicula forbesi
A medium-sized rail of montane forests. Chestnut body and tail with dark wings. The male Forbes’s is distinctive, having a plain wing whereas the female has buff spots. Similar to Chestnut Forest-Rail but Forbes’s Rail usually occurs lower, and the female has barred rear flanks instead of pale spots and buffy rather than whiteish spots. Voice, similar quacking to White-striped Forest-Rail and also a hoarse and accelerating “wokwokwokwokwok…..” reminiscent of Blue-bearded Bee-eater.
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