Keel-billed Motmot
Electron carinatum
Medium-sized forest-dweller that likes to sit motionless. Mostly dull green, slightly buffier below, with black mask and breast spot. Orange forehead and blue eyebrow and chin are distinctive. Most similar to larger Lesson’s Motmot; note smaller size and face pattern. Often found singly or in pairs inside forest, usually below canopy. Never common; quite inconspicuous and can be difficult to find within its limited range. Call very similar to Broad-billed Motmot.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Electron carinatum
- Authority
- (Du Bus de Gisignies, 1847)
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Momotidae
- Genus
- Electron
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Yellow-throated White-eye
Zosterops metcalfii
Small. Yellowish-olive above with a bright yellow throat and base to the undertail and a gray belly. Has a thin white eye-ring and a small, smudgy black eye-stripe. Bill and legs dark gray. On Florida Island, birds lack the white eye-ring and have red eyes. Found in most habitats with trees or large bushes. Similar to Gray-throated White-eye, but has yellow throat and stronger olive coloration above. Common call is a loud repetitive “peep peep.”
Tanimbar Eclectus
Eclectus riedeli
Robust, big-headed, and rather short-tailed parrot endemic to the Tanimbar Islands, where it inhabits lowland and foothill forests. Male bright green with red underwings and orange bill, female bright red with dark underwings and bill. Usually seen flying above forests at first light, squawking loudly. Calls include an ear-shattering, high-pitched squawk, as well as a loud, grating shree. Formerly grouped with other closely related species under “Eclectus Parrot.”
Plain-winged Antshrike
Thamnophilus schistaceus
Even-colored antshrike of forest under- and midstory. Often travels with mixed-species flocks. Males are plain gray; females are tawny with olive underparts. Females have a more contrasting reddish cap than other female antshrikes. Heard more often than seen; listen for a series of accelerating “awh” notes terminating in a punctuated down-slurred note.
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