Aberrant Bush Warbler
Horornis flavolivaceus
Small shy warbler. Dull brown with a paler belly and brow stripe. Like most bush-warblers, difficult to see as it moves through dense foliage. Listen for its sweet song, consisting of a few introductory notes followed by two long whistles: “ti-ti-tchew weeeeee-cheeeeee’. Visually very difficult to separate from Yellowish-bellied Bush Warbler and Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler, and differences are extremely subtle. Himalayan breeders average more greenish on the back than either of the other two species, and have a strong yellow wash on the belly; Brownish-flanked, with which Aberrant overlaps in the eastern Himalayas, is much browner overall. In central China, Aberrant overlaps with Yellowish-bellied, which has a pale gray throat instead of a yellowish-buff one. Aberrant breeds in shrubby edge, bamboo stands, and open bushy areas in montane and hill areas; upper altitudinal limit averages higher than both Yellowish-bellied and Brownish-flanked.
Taxonomy
The aberrant bush warbler was formally described in 1845 by the English zoologist Edward Blyth based on a specimen collected in Nepal. He placed the species in the genus Neornis and coined the binomial name Neornis flavolivacea. The specific epithet flavolivaceus combines the Latin flavus meaning "yellow" with the Modern Latin olivaceus meaning "olive-green". The aberrant bush warbler is now placed in the genus Horornis that was introduced in 1845 by Brian Hodgson.<p>Thirteen subspecies are recognised:<p>The last eight subspecies in the above list have sometimes been considered as a separate species, the Sunda bush warbler Horornis vulcanius.
- Scientific name
- Horornis flavolivaceus
- Authority
- (Blyth, 1845)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Scotocercidae
- Genus
- Horornis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Chestnut-bellied Rock-Thrush
Monticola rufiventris
An upright bird of montane forests. Male is dark blue above and orange below, with a dark face. Female looks completely different: gray-brown with boldly scaled underparts and a whitish crescent behind the ear. Female White-throated Rock Thrush is similar, but browner, with a spotted back and no pale ear crescent. Usually seen in pairs, perched quietly on a rock or exposed branch at canopy level. Song is a series of buzzy whistles; most common call is a distincive low, harsh scratching noise.
Blackish Chat-Tyrant
Ochthoeca nigrita
Small flycatcher endemic to the Venezuela Andes. Plumage is entirely slate gray except for its conspicuous white eyebrows, which can shine like headlights in the gloom. Inhabits cloud forest, and almost always seen near rushing mountain streams. Typical vocalization is a short, descending rasp repeated every few seconds. Formerly lumped with Chestnut-bellied Chat-Tyrant, which only barely reaches over Colombian border into Venezuela and does not overlap with Blackish.
Green Woodhoopoe
Phoeniculus purpureus
An elongated, metallic-green-black bird with red feet and a long, decurved, red-orange bill. Juveniles have dark bills but are often in the company of adults. It flies heavily, with the long floppy, white-tipped tail dangling behind. Pairs and groups of up to 14 birds are highly social, occupying savanna, woodland, riverine forest, and gardens, where they nest and roost in natural cavities. Clambers in trees, probing bark and crevices for insects and small vertebrates. They communicate using a strong cackling chatter that sounds maniacal. The almost identical Grant’s and Violet woodhoopoes (with which it sometimes hybridizes) differ from Green Woodhoopoe only by having a coppery-purple (not glossy greenish) metallic sheen.
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