Mangrove Finch

This attractive meadowlark is found in open fields. It often perches conspicuously atop grasses or small bushes. Male is unmistakable, mostly black with bright red breast and throat. Female is less obvious. She is brown and streaky, but look for the sharply pointed bill (like a blackbird), overall buffy brown coloration, and brown-and-buff stripes on head. The streaking is mostly concentrated on the sides of the breast and flanks, not in the middle of the breast and belly. Listen for song: several metallic chips followed by a raspy buzz.

Fantastic bird of the Amazonian region and adjacent Andean slopes. It looks like a huge crow with a bushy crest, a thick braid hanging from its throat, and pale eyes. Male is larger than female, with a longer (feathered) wattle and a white patch at the front of his crest. Flight is undulating and woodpecker-like. Inhabits tall rainforest, often along rivers, and males gather at display sites where they extend their wattles and give low pitched moos.

Brightly-colored male has a bright golden belly, a black chest band and head, and a clean white throat. He appears to have a black “shawl” with golden wings and a black tail. Female is considerably duller, being olive-brownish above and yellow below, with a pale throat and brown breast. Endemic to Utupua, in the southeastern Solomons, where it is found in most island habitats, though avoids villages. Voice includes a sequence of sparsely spaced, thin, uninspired whistles. Formerly grouped with Vanikoro Whistler and Nendo Whistler under “Temotu Whistler.”