Marquesan Kingfisher

A gray-and-white flycatcher-like songbird confined to the eastern Lesser Sundas. Head slate-gray with well-defined black mask and throat. Underparts bright white and upperparts slate-gray, with dark tail displaying obvious white outer feathers. Juveniles are grayish-brown above and cinnamon below, with white on face, throat, and neck. Singles and pairs frequent mixed-species flocks within understory of forest, forest edge, and mangroves. Lacks orange on breast, unlike Spectacled Monarch. Song is a high-pitched, descending whistled “seeeer.” Also gives a scratchy “k’schrrrr,” “schrrrr,” and rasping “weeee.”

Large reddish brown woodcreeper of lowland rainforest. Lightly barred from face to back and underparts; this barring can be quite diffuse and sometimes difficult to see in the field. Average-sized bill can be brown to dark red, depending on the population. A faint dark cheek pattern can often be seen. Similar to some other large unstreaked woodcreepers; weak pattern of horizontal barring and dark brown or red (not gray) bill help differentiate from Cinnamon-throated, Plain-brown, and White-chinned Woodcreepers. Prefers mature forest habitats, and is frequently found singly or in pairs around army ant swarms. Voice is a quick descending series of whistles, shorter and more quickly descending than Black-banded.

A nest parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of pytilias. As with other whydahs, breeding males are spectacular and bizarre, whereas non-breeding males and females are drab and inconspicuous. Breeding males are mostly black, with a rufous collar and a long tail with an odd widened area at its base. Non-breeding males and females have a brownish back, pale underparts, and a reddish bill. Generally scarce and local in broadleaf woodland and lush savanna. Breeding male similar to other paradise-whydahs, but has a longer tail than Sahel Paradise-Whydah, a shorter and thicker-based tail than Togo Paradise-Whydah, and a slightly shorter tail and more rufous collar than Eastern Paradise-Whydah. Non-breeding male and female can be cautiously identified by their combination of a reddish bill, pinkish legs, and simple facial pattern. Not very vocal, but does imitate pytilia vocalizations.