Philippine Pied-Fantail
Rhipidura nigritorquis
A medium-sized, long-tailed bird of wooded and fairly open areas in the lowlands. Sooty-gray above and white below, with a black chest band and black face. Note the white throat and brow. Often cocks and twitches its white-tipped tail from side to side. Similar in size and color to Philippine Magpie-Robin, but lacks the white mark in the wing. Song consists of varied, rather tuneless and scratchy complex whistled phrases.
Identification
This bird is of moderate size and has a long tail. It is commonly found in wooded areas and open spaces in lowland regions. Its upper body is a sooty gray color, while its underbody is white. It features a black band on its chest and a black face, with a distinct white throat and brow. It frequently moves its tail from side to side, displaying its white tips. The bird's song is composed of diverse, somewhat unmusical, and scratchy whistled phrases.
Taxonomy
Other names by which this bird is referred to are Maria Capra (Philippines), and tarerekoy (Visayas, Philippines).
- Scientific name
- Rhipidura nigritorquis
- Authority
- Vigors, 1831
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Rhipiduridae
- Genus
- Rhipidura
Range and habitat
The Philippine pied fantail is endemic throughout the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Gray-rumped Treeswift
Hemiprocne longipennis
Long-winged and long-tailed, this inhabitant of the forest canopy closely resembles a swift, but unlike true swifts, frequently perches upright for long periods of time. Dark gray above with a short, angular crest and dark orange cheek patches. Female is paler below than male. Long tail is sometimes opened in a deep fork when in flight, but appears long and thin when closed. Longer-winged and longer-necked silhouette than swifts in flight. Forages both aerially and by hawking from an exposed perch. Inhabits lowland and foothill forests, particularly wet forests. Gives series of squeaky calls.
Gurney's Eagle
Aquila gurneyi
A large raptor which soars over lowland and foothill forest and disturbed areas. A dark, stately eagle with long wings, long tail, pale patches at the base of the flight feathers. The wings are held flat in flight and feathers are ‘fingered’ at the wing tips. Similar to Wedge-tailed Eagle, with which it doesn’t normally co-occur, but Gurney’s Eagle has a long, rounded tail rather than a wedge-shaped tail. Call described as a high-pitched downslurred note.
Masked Antpitta
Hylopezus auricularis
Medium-sized antpitta of floodplain forest, particularly with palmetto understory, along the confluence of the Ríos Madre de Dios and Bení in the Riberalta area. The only antpitta in range with dark chevrons on underparts or a blue-gray cap. Forages on or near the ground, but generally perches 1-2 m up in the understory or midstory to sing at dawn. Visually distinctive in range, but song deceptively similar to, and perhaps indistinguishable from, local songs of Amazonian Antshrike. Call a more distinctive three to four-part descending whistle.
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