Elegant Sunbird

Aethopyga duyvenbodei

Spectacular male shows diagnostic maroon sides to head and collar, iridescent metallic blue-green forehead and crown, blue shoulder, moss-green back, and yellow rump. Underside is uniform bright yellow in both sexes, although female is entirely olive above. Juvenile resembles female but with pale legs. Singles and pairs inhabit forest, shrubbery, and plantations in lowlands and lower hills, often joining mixed-species flocks. Female can be separated from female Black and Brown-throated Sunbirds by bright yellow underparts and lack of yellow eyebrow. Gives high-pitched “tzeeet” calls. Song is an undulating trill.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Aethopyga duyvenbodei
Authority
(Schlegel, 1871)
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Nectariniidae
Genus
Aethopyga

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
declining

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Moustached Warbler

Moustached Warbler

Acrocephalus melanopogon

Resembles Sedge Warbler, but larger with a thick and well-marked white eyebrow and throat; contrasting dark cap; rufous rump, nape, and sides; short wings; and dark legs (pale in Sedge). Found in dense reed beds, often with bulrush stands. Makes muffled "treck" calls recalling a stonechat. Scratchy, repetitive song is given from the upper half of a plant stalk; does not sing in flight.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tringa flavipes

Medium-sized shorebird with bright yellow legs. Plumage is essentially identical to Greater Yellowlegs: gray upperparts with white speckling, streaky neck, and white belly. Proportions are most important for identification. Lesser is smaller overall with shorter, narrower, straighter bill, shorter neck, more rounded head, and smaller chest. Forages actively on mudflats and in shallow pools and marshes, often in loose mixed flocks with Greater Yellowlegs. Somewhat more likely to be found in smaller, marshier habitats than Greater, but much overlap. Listen for soft, whistled “tew” calls, typically only one or two notes, unlike the stronger series of notes from Greater.

MacGillivray's Warbler

MacGillivray's Warbler

Geothlypis tolmiei

Chunky, skulking warbler that favors dense undergrowth. Yellow below and olive above with blue-gray head and chest. Blacker lores set off distinctive white arcs above and below eye. Adult males show darkest head; females and immatures have paler gray head and whitish throat. Found in thickets, clearcuts, open mixed forests, and riparian zones. Breeds primarily in mountainous regions of western North America; winters from Mexico to Costa Rica. Compare with Mourning Warbler, but little range overlap, and note longer tail and white eye-arcs on MacGillivray’s.

Start Your Bird Watching Journey

Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.