Chirruping Nightjar

Caprimulgus griseatus

Well-camouflaged nightbird, endemic to the Philippines. Inhabits open areas in grasslands, as well as scrubby forest edge and rocky river margins. Intricately patterned gray-brown, but without the white throat and tail-tips of Philippine Nightjar, and has a less contrasting wing pattern at rest. Listen for its song, a bright, rising “j’wee!”, averaging clearer and less buzzy than the song of the closely related Savanna Nightjar (under which Chirruping was once treated as a subspecies). Little-known Mindanao population may be a distinct taxa.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Caprimulgus griseatus
Authority
Walden, 1875
Order
Caprimulgiformes
Family
Caprimulgidae
Genus
Caprimulgus

Photos

Distribution

Other Birds

Micronesian Myzomela

Micronesian Myzomela

Myzomela rubratra

A tiny bright red myzomela with dark blackish wings and tail, a blackish patch in front of the eye, and a decurved bill. Found widely in most habitats, mostly along forest edge and in scrub. The only myzomela in Micronesia. Voice is a mix of wheezing upslurred whistles and complex chattering and squeaking.

Needle-billed Hermit

Needle-billed Hermit

Phaethornis philippii

Large, tawny-orange hermit. Owes it name to its nearly straight bill, which is usually very slightly downcurved. Light orange below, greenish brown above, with a dark brown mask and long white tail tips. Usually prefers more upland areas than other hermits, away from water and especially around bamboo and in terra firme forest.

White-capped Albatross

White-capped Albatross

Thalassarche cauta

A medium-sized dark-backed albatross with pale underwings outlined by a narrow dark border and a dark notch in the armpit. The adult has a whitish head with grayish cheeks that give it a “white-capped” appearance. The gray-green bill has a yellowish tip to both mandibles. Juveniles are grayer on the head with gray bills. The species breeds on islands off Tasmania and New Zealand but disperses widely across the southern Oceans between 15 and 60°S, where it is a frequently encountered pelagic seabird. Similar albatrosses have a dark-tipped (not pale-tipped) lower half to the bill, and Salvin’s Albatross has a pale gray head and Chatham Albatross a slaty-gray head, further differentiating them from White-capped Albatross. Juveniles of these three are very difficult to separate.

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