Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat
Cossypha cyanocampter
A colorful robin-chat of humid forest habitats. The head is strikingly patterned, with a black cap and cheek, a white eyebrow, and an orange throat. The shoulder has a pale blue patch that can be largely or completely obscured. The tail has a dark center and broad orange sides. Found in the understory of various types of forest at low and middle elevations, including rainforest, gallery forest, and secondary forest. Similar to White-browed Robin-Chat, though generally found in more forested environments. Separated by the blue shoulder and the different and far more variable song. The song is a complex, variable, and musical mix of whistles and many other types of notes that usually also includes imitations of other birds.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Cossypha cyanocampter
- Authority
- (Bonaparte, 1850)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Cossypha
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-capped Tinamou
Crypturellus atrocapillus
Subtly colorful tinamou of dense habitats in the lowlands and Andean foothills. Almost exclusively found in bamboo thickets, but also occasionally found in dense riverside vegetation and secondary growth, including around agriculture. Rarely seen, but frequently heard throughout the day; it usually gives about one call note per minute, a springy “bwow”. The most helpful visual field mark is its bright orange legs; it also has a black or dark gray cap, and brown plumage with cold gray head and neck, and reddish orange throat.
Fluttering Shearwater
Puffinus gavia
A small dark-brown shearwater with a white belly and a dusky patch under its wings along with dark markings on the inner wing visible during flight. A brown cap expands over the eye and runs down the back of the neck, blurring into the white chin and breast. Name is derived from distinctive low and fast “fluttering” flight with rapid bursts of wingbeats. Often seen feeding in flocks off the northern and eastern North Island and in the Cook Strait region. Easily confused with Hutton’s Shearwater where habitats overlap on the Cook Strait. Hutton’s is slightly larger with little white showing on the chin and more extensive gray armpit smudging. Little Shearwater also occurs in northern waters but is smaller, with white extending through or above the eye.
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
Lichenostomus melanops
A small to medium-sized honeyeater with a bright yellow chin and crown and bold black cheeks. Note the namesake small yellow tufts behind the ear. Gregarious and usually seen in groups; often aggressive towards other birds. Typically found in woodland areas around the southeast parts of Australia.
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