White-gorgeted Fantail
Rhipidura coultasi
Slender, with a long, often fanned tail. Dark above, with a white throat and belly, as well as a boldly white-streaked black chest. Prefers primary and tall secondary forest, but tolerates disturbed areas. Coloration and patterning serve to identify it from other forest fantails on Malaita. Voice is a rising and falling series of squeaky warbles and chirps.
Identification
Compared to the white-winged fantail the white-gorgeted fantail is larger with a grey rather a black back. The inner secondaries are brownish black with a very narrow whitish edge. The lower throat is white rather than black and the drop-shaped spots on the breast are larger.
Taxonomy
The white-gorgeted fantail was formally described in 1931 by the American ornithologist Ernst Mayr based on specimens collected by William Ferrell Coultas and Walter Jakob Eyerdam on the island of Malaita in the Solomon Islands. Mayr considered the taxon as a subspecies of the white-winged fantail and coined the trinomial name Rhipidura cockerelli coultasi, choosing the specific epithet to honour one of the collectors. The white-gorgeted fantail is now considered as a separate species. It is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Rhipidura coultasi
- Authority
- Mayr, 1931
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Rhipiduridae
- Genus
- Rhipidura
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds

Velvety Manakin
Lepidothrix velutina
Small, short-tailed bird found in lowland and foothill rainforest. Male is easy to identify with his glossy black body and azure crown. Female is mostly lime green with a yellowish belly; her plumage is much greener than other similar species such as Choco Manakin and female Red-capped Manakin. Most common call is a short, ringing trill. Male’s display song is a buzzy “purwit!”. Usually seen at lower to middle levels in the forest, plucking berries from fruiting trees. Formerly called Blue-crowned Manakin before that species was split. Velvety Manakin’s range includes Costa Rica, Panama, western Colombia, and northwestern Ecuador.

Furtive Flycatcher
Ficedula disposita
A small bird of lowland secondary forest with bamboo in northern Luzon. Dark brown above with a gray band across the chest, a white throat and belly, a brown rump, rufous outer tail feathers, and a black terminal band on the tail. Similar to Ashy-breasted Flycatcher, but differs in tail pattern. Song is a variable three-noted whistled phrase, “piii puu piiit!” with the middle note lower.

Gray-hooded Parakeet
Psilopsiagon aymara
Small, gregarious parakeet of the high Andes from central Argentina to Lake Titicaca. Tends to forage in small groups in shorter shrubs and bushes, including Polylepis. Often near roadsides, settlements and roadsides. Prefers hillsides, and is absent from most flat areas of the altiplano. From Mountain Parakeet by white throat, gray cap, and longer tail. Calls a quiet, three part “squi-da-dit” given quickly and often in flight.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.