Striated Starling
Aplonis striata
Small, dark starling with a bright red eye, short tail, and thick bill. Male glossy black with a faintly striated pattern. Female gray overall, slightly paler on the underparts. Found throughout New Caledonia and on the Loyalty Islands, though more common in areas of higher quality habitat. Most common call a surprisingly high-pitched, clear downslurred whistle. Also gives a more rarely-heard quiet babbling song.
Taxonomy
The striated starling was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the rollers in the genus Coracias and coined the binomial name Coracias striata. The specific epithet is from Latin striatus meaning "striated". Gmelin based his account on the "Blue-striped roller" that had been described and illustrated in 1781 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book A General Synopsis of Birds. The striated starling is now placed in the genus Aplonis that was introduced in 1836 by John Gould.<p>Two subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Aplonis striata
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1788)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Sturnidae
- Genus
- Aplonis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Purple-throated Woodstar
Philodice mitchellii
Woodstars are tiny hummingbirds that fly like bumblebees. Purple-throated is restricted to the west slope of the Andes in Colombia and Ecuador, where it inhabits cloud forest, edges, and second growth from 800–2,000 m. Males have a glittering purple throat, white chest band, fairly long forked tail, and white patches on the sides of the rump. Unlikely to be confused within range. Females are trickier; note the orangey belly with a variable amount of smudgy white in the center (never as extensive as on female White-bellied Woodstar) and the thin whitish line that extends behind the eye and wraps around the neck (not as wide or buffy as on Little Woodstar). Often seen singly feeding in the canopy; visits feeders.
Oriental Hobby
Falco severus
Small falcon, usually seen in and around forest clearings or perched up on high vantage points such as snags and telecommunication towers from which it hawks for its prey. Dark gray above with brick-red underparts and a white throat and collar. One of very few small falcons throughout much of its range; can be confused with migratory Eurasian Hobby, which lacks the reddish underparts.
Emerald-chinned Hummingbird
Abeillia abeillei
Very small, short-billed hummingbird of humid evergreen and pine-evergreen forest in highlands and upper foothills; uncommon. Usually feeds low, often at banks of flowers along edges and roadsides. Feeding flight is usually quick and hard to follow. Best identified by small size, big white spot behind eye, and rather liquid twittering call (similar to Stripe-tailed Hummingbird, which occurs in the same areas but looks quite different).
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