White-winged Magpie

Urocissa whiteheadi

Odd-looking and poorly understood magpie with bright white patches on its wings and strongly graduated tail. Dark brown overall with a heavy orange bill and pale belly. Travels in flocks of its own species, seldom mixing with others. Gives a hoarse, rolling squawk when communicating with others of its kind. Unlike other blue magpies, does not regularly stray into parks and gardens.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Urocissa whiteheadi
Authority
Ogilvie-Grant, 1899
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Corvidae
Genus
Urocissa

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
declining

Photos

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Gray-headed Bulbul

Gray-headed Bulbul

Microtarsus priocephalus

Perpetually surprised-looking bulbul. Predominantly olive-yellow with a gray head, yellow forehead, and silvery rump and tail. Look for this species in wet forest and forest edge in lowland and foothill areas; gleans food from all levels of forest. Most common call is a loud buzzy “dzzzz!”

Fiji Petrel

Fiji Petrel

Pseudobulweria macgillivrayi

A relatively small, entirely dark petrel, appearing chocolate-brown or black, with a distinctive short-necked and cigar-shaped silhouette due to its tapering tail. Lacks the white underside of the otherwise similar Beck’s Petrel, and is significantly smaller than and lacks the white belly of Tahiti Petrel. Similar to Bulwer’s Petrel, but lacks the pale bars found in the upperwing of that species, appears shorter-necked, and does not hold its head high in flight. Overall flight style of Fiji Petrel is more acrobatic than that of Bulwer’s Petrel.

Greater Lophorina

Greater Lophorina

Lophorina latipennis

A fairly large bird of mid-montane forest, including disturbed areas with Casuarinas. Male, mainly black plumage with 2 remarkable erectile fans which are lifted up over the head during its display, metallic, blue-green, trapezium-shaped breast shield and patches above the eyes. Female has a gray-brown back with rufous flight feathers, barred underparts, a broad, black eye-stripe and white eye-brow. Female similar to female parotias, but is slightly smaller and has a dark eye. Female also similar to female Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise but is larger and has a black bill. The male’s yellow-green interior of the mouth is visible whilst it gives its piercing nasal screech.

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