Wallacean Whistler
Pachycephala arctitorquis
A thick-billed, sparrow-sized songbird. Male has a black hood, a white throat, pale gray upperparts, and a white underside. Female is rufous-brown above and whitish underneath, with dark chest streaking. Juvenile resembles a pale-billed female. Found in varied wooded habitats and forest, where pairs or single birds frequent the understory and subcanopy. Male distinguished from male Golden and Yellow-throated Whistlers by gray back and white underside. Female separated from female Golden and Yellow-throated Whistlers and from Fawn-breasted Whistler by streaked breast and strongly rufous-toned upperparts. Song is a series of strident whistles, including “choo” and “chwee” notes, sometimes in a jumbled series.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Pachycephala arctitorquis
- Authority
- Sclater, PL, 1883
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pachycephalidae
- Genus
- Pachycephala
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Loten's Sunbird
Cinnyris lotenius
Medium-sized sunbird with a deeply curved bill. Glossy purple male is larger and longer-billed than somewhat similar Purple Sunbird. Female, with her sharply demarcated white underparts and dark gray upperparts, is unmistakable. Found in both wooded habitats and more open areas, including around human habitation.
Chestnut-winged Foliage-gleaner
Dendroma erythroptera
Gray-brown foliage-gleaner with reddish wings and tail. Face and throat washed with dull yellow, with a faint eyeline; this is unlike many other foliage-gleaners which have a clear eyebrow or throat patch. Usually forages fairly high in the midstory and canopy of mature rainforest, often with mixed species flocks. Many foliage-gleaners have reddish wings; look for reddish wings contrasting with grayish body and tawny ochraceous face and throat in this species.
Grandala
Grandala coelicolor
Often seen swirling in flocks above mountain passes, scrubby alpine forests, and highland meadows, this large thrush is unlike any other. Adult male is a deep, almost eye-searing blue with jet-black wings. Females and immatures are brown with white streaks all over the head and underparts and weak white bars on the wings. Long-billed and sharp-winged profile, along with flocking behavior, is more reminiscent of starlings than thrushes.
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