Sulawesi Heleia
Heleia squamiceps
A small, slim-billed songbird with a green upperside, yellow-washed underparts with green sides, and extensive white streaks on the head. South Sulawesi form shows a scaled throat; all other forms have an unmarked pale throat. Juveniles show a green-toned crown and a paler underside. Pairs or small groups inhabit montane forest and edges, frequenting mixed-species flocks. Confined to Sulawesi. Unmistakable: the only warbler-like songbird with abundant white head streaking. Short, rich warbled song includes repeated phrases like “twit-tiwit…” interspersed with “chu-chu-chu” notes. Call is a soft “chu-chu-chu.”
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Heleia squamiceps
- Authority
- (Hartert, EJO, 1896)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Zosteropidae
- Genus
- Heleia
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Gray-breasted Parakeet
Pyrrhura griseipectus
Highly gregarious small parakeet with a long, pointed tail. Has a chestnut face, a dark cap, a grayish scalloped breast, and a large red patch on the belly. Inhabits a handful of high-elevation forests across a very restricted range that it shares with few similar species.
Three-toed Parrotbill
Paradoxornis paradoxus
Relatively plain and unmarked brown parrotbill of high-elevation bamboo thickets. Very similar in appearance to co-occurring Brown Parrotbill, but note Three-toed’s more prominent white eyering, brighter orange bill, and (if seen well) namesake three toes. Three-toed also generally appears darker-eyed and less “bristly” on the face (less prominent pale check streaking). Rustles through dense bamboo stands, often in small flocks. Often heard giving a series of husky, descending whistles: “Peer, Peer, Peer!”
Blue-throated Goldentail
Chlorestes eliciae
Uncommon and local, rather small hummingbird of humid forest edge, plantations, and woodlands in tropical lowlands and foothills. Perches and feeds mainly at middle to upper levels in shady understory and at edges. Note the bright red bill and greenish-gold tail (which often looks grayish). Male has violet gorget. Female has violet throat spotting, but often these areas look rather dull and grayish unless they catch the light.
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