Javan Flowerpecker

Supreme understory skulker in montane forest, resembling a hybrid between a thrush and babbler. A dull but distinctive-looking bird if seen well, with brown-olive upperparts and rusty underparts, a bold dull blue-gray eye-ring and black-speckled tawny throat. The bill is dark on top and pale underneath. Immature is paler, lacking the spotted throat. Singles or pairs are highly localized residents flicking through leaf litter or following ants in undergrowth of Eastern Arc montane forest, between 900–2700m; shy and hops or runs quickly across the forest-floor, seldom permitting absorbing looks. Thrush-like song is a varied but distinctive shrill series of whistles and slurs. Calls include a single upslurred sweet “seeuuuiit”, and a scratchy “werrrt” in alarm.

A fairly large bird of mainly secondary lowland and foothill forest edge. As the name suggests, a variably plumaged bird. Males mostly have a black hood, wing and tail with belly and back, chestnut or orange-brown. Males and females of some races have a brown head. Very similar to Hooded Pitohui, but Southern Variable is usually found at lower elevation and has black rather than brown above the base of the tail. Song, a varied, jumbled warble.

Distinctive-looking small bird found in riverside or lakeside vegetation such as reeds; generally avoids the densest stands. Buffy-brown overall with a dark head; Central Asian birds average paler than Iranian birds. Sexes are similar, but females are lighter-colored and less contrastingly marked. The ‘caspia’ form of Eurasian Penduline-Tit can be similar, but Black-headed has an entirely dark head instead of a dark mask. Like other penduline-tits, builds a hanging pouch nest, which in this species is typically woven between reeds.