Golden-bellied Gerygone
Gerygone sulphurea
Tiny and rather unobtrusive bird with brownish upperparts and luminous lemon-yellow underparts. Superficially similar to female and juvenile Olive-backed Sunbirds, but note gerygone’s short, uncurved bill. Forages in parks, forests, and plantations, where it often joins mixed flocks moving through the middle and upper layers. Song is variable throughout its range but invariably includes buzzy notes with obvious rises and falls in pitch.
Taxonomy
Gerygone sulphurea includes the following subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Gerygone sulphurea
- Authority
- Wallace, 1864
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Acanthizidae
- Genus
- Gerygone
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds

Olive-backed Oriole
Oriolus sagittatus
Medium-sized songbird with long pinkish bill and red eye. Olive-green above, pale below, with dark streaks on chest and belly. Juvenile and immature browner, with grayish bills. Green Oriole is green and yellow below. Female Australasian Figbird is browner, with shorter bill and bare skin around eyes. Resident in northern Australia and New Guinea, summer migrant to southeastern Australia. Inhabits many sorts of woodlands, foraging singly or in pairs, singing frequently, a clear, tuneful “orri-orri-orriole.”

Swamp Flycatcher
Muscicapa aquatica
Chunky brown flycatcher with a white throat and brown chest band. Birds in the eastern part of the range show a lot of contrast on the underparts, while western birds are duller. Found in habitats adjacent to water, including papyrus swamp, marsh, riverbanks, and lakeshores. Not very vocal, but the quiet song is a mix of rasps, trills, and high-pitched whistles. Duller western birds can be confused with Cassin’s Flycatcher, which is also often found near water, but are brown rather than gray overall.

Short-tailed Woodstar
Myrmia micrura
Tiny hummingbird with a very short tail found in arid scrub and desert in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. Male has glittering violet “beard” that is bordered by white above and below. Female lacks throat patch and has a buffy tinge to underparts, faint facial stripes, and a white tip to the tail. Female is told from other similar species in range by very short tail that does not reach wingtips when perched and white tip of tail (not white edges or corners).
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.