Red-banded Flowerpecker

Dicaeum eximium

A tiny, constantly moving bird with a short bill. Head and back are grayish-brown, throat white. Has a red chest band, gray sides of the breast, a white belly with a black stripe, buffy cinnamon flanks, and a crimson rump. Mostly inhabits lowland and hill forest up to 1000 meters of elevation, avoiding open areas and coastal forest. Short bill eliminates confusion with sunbirds and myzomelas. Common call is a harsh “tzick.”

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Dicaeum eximium
Authority
Sclater, PL, 1877
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Dicaeidae
Genus
Dicaeum

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
stable

Photos

Distribution

Other Birds

Banded Stilt

Banded Stilt

Cladorhynchus leucocephalus

Large black-and-white shorebird with white head and long straight, needle-like bill, very long pink legs. Adult has prominent copper-colored belly-band, lacking in juvenile. Thick white trailing edge to wing obvious in flight. Occurs in small groups or in immense flocks, usually close to inland salt lakes or coastal lagoons.

Okarito Brown Kiwi

Okarito Brown Kiwi

Apteryx rowi

A large, dark grayish brown kiwi with brownish streaking, often showing white patches on face. Restricted to native forest near Okarito in New Zealand, with small populations on predator-free Mana, Blumine, and Motuara islands. Often heard at night foraging as it sniffs loudly, tapping the ground for invertebrates. Male call is a series of clear rising whistles. Female call is a harsh throaty wail. Both sexes repeat their call many times, and sometimes call simultaneously. Could be confused with Weka by voice and shape; look for the kiwi’s much longer bill and lack of tail, and listen for its multisyllabic call.

Swainson's Spurfowl

Swainson's Spurfowl

Pternistis swainsonii

A large brown francolin with some darker streaks, dark blackish legs, and a distinctive bare red face and throat. It frequents grasslands and savannas where it is bold and conspicuous, standing on open branches and termite mounds to call its loud screeching “kreeeeet-kreeeeet-kreeeet” call at dawn and dusk. Red-necked Francolin differs by having red legs and feet, by often having white plumage on the underparts or face (depending on the race), and by preferring thickets and forest to open habitats.

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