Black-faced Laughingthrush
Trochalopteron affine
Shy, beautifully patterned laughinghtrush of mid to high elevations. Note bold black-and-white head pattern, golden wing and tail panels, and mostly unmarked brown on the rest of the body. Typically found as pairs during the breeding season and small groups in the winter, in the dense undergrowth of hill and mountain forests. Song like many other laughingthrushes, one to three inflected or quavering whistles. Calls include churring, rattling, and slurred squeaking.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Trochalopteron affine
- Authority
- (Blyth, 1843)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Leiothrichidae
- Genus
- Trochalopteron
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Gray Teal
Anas gracilis
Plain grayish mottled duck with a rounded crown. Note plain face lacking the bold stripes of Pacific Black Duck. White wing panels are distinctive in flight compared to purple/green of Pacific Black Duck. Told from female Chestnut Teal by the much paler neck/throat. One of the most common ducks in many waterways, forming enormous flocks numbering in the 1000s.
Thicket Antpitta
Myrmothera dives
Secretive and very difficult to see. Distinctive antpitta shape: very plump with hardly any tail, very long sturdy legs. Distinguished from other antpittas by rich rufous flanks with darker streaking on breast. Hops on the ground in dense forest, edges, and tangles; sometimes perches off the ground to sing (but still always concealed). Much more easily heard than seen; listen for its fast rising series of whistles.
Zebra Finch
Taeniopygia guttata
Small finch with bright orange bill and a distinctive black-and-white “moustache” mark. Adult male gray above, with barred grayish bib, rusty white-spotted flanks, and black-and-white tail pattern. Female smooth gray to buff on the chest and belly; juvenile similar but with a dark gray bill. Inhabits arid inland Australia, where often found in very large flocks.
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