Long-tailed Fantail
Rhipidura opistherythra
A small brown songbird with a long tail, often held cocked or fanned. Upperparts largely rufous except for a grayer head with a pale brow. Shows a white throat and uniform buff underparts. Inhabits lowland forest and sometimes mangroves. Confined to the Tanimbar Islands. Told from Arafura Fantail by the lack of a white tip to the tail and the absence of a black breast patch. Gives a distinctive, repetitive, see-sawing two-note song phrase, “wee-oo-wee-oo-wee-oo,” rising on the first note, falling on the second. Also gives nasal jittering calls.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Rhipidura opistherythra
- Authority
- Sclater, PL, 1883
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Rhipiduridae
- Genus
- Rhipidura
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Fan-tailed Berrypecker
Melanocharis versteri
A fairly small, long-tailed bird of montane forest. Male has black upperparts, gray underparts with white tufts on the sides and white in the base of the outer tail feathers. Female is olive, with yellowish tufts on the sides and a dotted bar in the base of the outer tail feathers. Female is similar to female Papuan Whipbird, but Fan-tailed Berrypecker has a paler belly, side streak, white in the tail, and pale around the base of the bill. Voice, a repeated, falling, nasal “weh!” and a high-pitch clicking call.
Tacarcuna Wood-Quail
Odontophorus dialeucos
This rare chickenlike bird has an exceptionally small range on the border between Panama and Colombia. Found on the ground in mature forest from around 1,000–1,400 m. Dark brown overall with a black head, a whitish face and eyebrow merging with a buffy nape, and a white band across upper chest. Lives in small groups, which can be difficult to see. Listen for the rollicking whistled song, typical of wood-quail.
White-browed Antbird
Myrmoborus leucophrys
Small, short-tailed antbird with a bold eyebrow. Male is slaty gray with gleaming white eyebrow. Female is brown above and white below with a black face and an orange eyebrow. Found in young forests and forest edges, skulking in dense undergrowth alone or in pairs. Listen for a long series of harsh, descending whistles.
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