Kauai Elepaio
Chasiempis sclateri
A small flycatcher of forested habitats on Kauai. Adults have a gray back and white wingbars, while immatures are reddish brown with buffy wingbars. Common in native forest at higher elevations. Bold and curious; not afraid of people and may follow hikers. Often holds tail cocked up at an angle. Male song consists of two notes that rise and fall and have a squeaky, rubber ducky quality. Both sexes give a variety of soft calls and scolding notes. Responds to pishing and squeaking.
Identification
This is the most distinct ʻelepaio; adult birds have their head and back gray, with a white supercilium, a rusty-red breast and a white underside. Young birds are uniformly rusty above and white below. Wings and tail are alike in all subspecies, but the young individuals of sclateri have the white stippling of the wings replaced by rusty coloration too.
Taxonomy
The Kauaʻi ʻelepaio was formerly considered as a subspecies of the Hawaii ʻelepaio (Chasiempis sandwichensis sclateri) until reclassified as a separate species in 2010.
- Scientific name
- Chasiempis sclateri
- Authority
- Ridgway, 1882
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Monarchidae
- Genus
- Chasiempis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Pternistis afer
Large, chunky francolin with bare red skin on the throat and around the eye. There is much geographical variation in the presence or extent of white on the face, black-and-white streaking below, and black on the belly. Found in a wide range of habitats, including moist savanna, grassland, thickets, cultivation, and forest edge. The call is a series of rough “krek” notes, sometimes with a rollicking introduction. Bare red throat separates it from most other francolins. In areas of overlap with Swainson’s or Gray-breasted Francolins, Red-necked can be identified by black-and-white striped underparts.
Javan Oriole
Oriolus cruentus
Rare oriole endemic to the mossy montane forests of Java. Male is glossy black with a crimson breast and wing spot, while the female is dull black overall with a dirty-pink breast and belly; note pale bill on both. Forages quietly and inconspicuously in the canopy and midstorey. Calls include a rather grating descending “mew.”
Rusty-flanked Jungle Flycatcher
Vauriella insignis
A medium-sized bird of montane forest in northern Luzon. Large for a flycatcher. Dark brown on the upperparts and chest, rufous on the sides with a white brow, throat, belly, and underside of the base of the tail. Superficially similar to Eyebrowed Thrush, but smaller, lacking the gray throat and yellow base to the bill. Voice consists of thin, high-pitched phrases and a short “shtck!”
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