Violet Woodhoopoe
Phoeniculus damarensis
An elongated black bird with a coppery-purple metallic sheen and a long, decurved red-orange bill. The juvenile has a dark bill, but is often in the company of adults. The species flies heavily with the white-tipped tail dangling. Pairs and groups of 3-12 are highly social, occupying arid savanna, woodland, and riverine forest along the Namib escarpment, where they nest and roost in natural cavities. They clamber in trees, probing bark and crevices for insects and small vertebrates, and communicate using a strong cackling chatter that is almost maniacal. The almost identical Green Woodhoopoe (with which this species sometimes hybridizes) only differs from Violet Woodhoopoe by having a glossy-greenish (not coppery-purple) metallic sheen.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Phoeniculus damarensis
- Order
- Bucerotiformes
- Family
- Phoeniculidae
- Genus
- Phoeniculus
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Moluccan Brush Cuckoo
Cacomantis aeruginosus
A fairly large cuckoo with uniformly dark gray upperparts, head, and throat, with deep chestnut below. Juvenile is brown and heavily barred all over. Confined to forested hills in the Moluccas. Distinguished from Brush Cuckoo by its preference for dense habitats, and by the extension of the chestnut color to the chest. Song is also faster than Brush Cuckoo’s. Piping whistles include “wit-wit-wit-wit…” uttered at relatively level pitch, and piping notes, “pip-pip-pip-pip-pip-pipPIPPIPPIPPIPIPIPPIPIPIPIP…”, getting louder and faster by the end.
Noisy Scrub-bird
Atrichornis clamosus
Incredibly elusive ground bird, restricted to a tiny range in southern Western Australia, where it inhabits dense forests with heavy understory and abundant leaf litter. Nondescript plumage, mostly brown above, olive-brown below, with pale throat and fine dark vermiculation in wings, back, and flanks. Adult male has some black markings in lower throat and upper breast. More likely to be heard than seen. Most easily distinguished from Western Bristlebird by call. Male’s loud, diverse song repertoire includes long sequences of sharp, clear, musical notes.
Bumblebee Hummingbird
Selasphorus heloisa
Tiny (bumblebee-sized) hummingbird of humid forest in the mountains of Mexico. Favors shrubby clearings and edges in evergreen forest and banks of flowers where other hummingbirds gather. Feeds while hovering in a horizontal position with tail cocked. Very inconspicuous, but male sometimes sings persistently from an exposed perch. Male has expansive, magenta-pink gorget, rather short tail with white corners and rusty base. Female has dark-spotted throat and same tail pattern as male. Very similar Wine-throated Hummingbird does not overlap in range.
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