Javan Heleia
Heleia javanica
Small warbler-like bird with a gray head, yellowish-green body, and varying amounts of white around the eye; lacks the well-defined white “spectacles” of typical white-eyes. Birds in the montane regions of far western and far eastern Java have a dark patch between the eye and the base of the bill, and minimal white on the face (a full thin eyering in eastern birds, and a white crescent under the eye in western birds), while birds in central Java have a large but poorly-defined white patch around the eye. Forages actively in wooded and forested areas from foothills to mountaintops, often in pairs or groups. Joins mixed-species flocks. Song is a bright series of whistled notes; calls include rattling, high-pitched “tchrr”s and sharply falling whistles.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Heleia javanica
- Authority
- (Horsfield, 1821)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Zosteropidae
- Genus
- Heleia
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Yellow Flycatcher
Erythrocercus holochlorus
A small and colorful flycatcher with olive-yellow upperparts and yellow underparts. Found in lowland forest, mostly in the canopy. Often joins mixed-species flocks. Somewhat similar to yellow-warblers, but much smaller and found in different habitats. Similar to Livingstone’s Flycatcher, but there is very little overlap in range, and can easily be separated by the olive-green rather than rufous tail. Vocalizes frequently, giving high-pitched, chittering calls and a quick whistled song.
Black-throated Antbird
Myrmophylax atrothorax
Medium-sized antbird of dense understory and riverside vegetation. Males are deep chestnut-brown, with black throat and white wing spots; females are lighter red-brown above, light tan below, with white wing spots as in male. Typically found in dense vegetation along rivers, particularly common in dense cane stands; sometimes also found away from water around forest edges and in tree fall gaps. Listen for an ascending series of high, whiny notes, decelerating then accelerating.
Necklaced Barbet
Psilopogon auricularis
Brightly-colored barbet restricted to the Annamite Range of southern Vietnam and southeastern Laos, where it inhabits hill and montane forests. Like other barbets, often sticks close to dense foliage in the canopy, where it can be difficult to see; listen instead for its echoing hiccuping song, which has a frog-like quality. If seen well, note the leaf-green body, thick black mask and “eyebrow”, red forehead, and bright yellow throat and crown. Namesake “necklace” consists of a thin black line across the throat which can be difficult to see. Very similar to closely-related Golden-throated Barbet, but ranges do not overlap.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.