Philippine Jungle Flycatcher
Cyornis ruficauda
Drab, medium-sized flycatcher with a long slender bill. Endemic to the central and southern Philippines, from the eastern Visayas south to Mindanao and Basilan. Look for a warm rufous tail, white throat, and diffusely brown-washed chest. Inhabits lowland and foothill forests, where it forays from a low perch in the understory or forest edge. Generally unobtrusive and difficult to spot in dark understory, but listen for its song, a jumbled series of high and squeaky notes often interspersed with short buzzes. Formerly grouped with Crocker Jungle Flycatcher and Sulu Jungle Flycatcher under “Chestnut-tailed Jungle Flycatcher.”
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Cyornis ruficauda
- Authority
- (Sharpe, 1877)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Cyornis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Chinese Francolin
Francolinus pintadeanus
Gamebird of dry, shrubby areas; especially common in hilly and montane regions. Male has white cheeks and rufous on the crown, shoulders, and vent, but is predominantly covered with delicate black-and-white scaling. Female is similarly intricate in her patterning but is browner and less bright overall. Singing males often stand on exposed rocks and hilltops to give their song, a metallic series of notes often likened to “come-to-the-peak-ah-ah!”
Turquoise Dacnis
Dacnis hartlaubi
A small tanager that is rare and local in the Andes of Colombia. Beautiful male is patterned in electric cerulean and black with an especially prominent black mask and a staring yellow eye. Female is grayish brown above and dull buffy below with a darker mask and a yellowish eye. Note its rather stout bill for a dacnis. Pairs occur in montane forest and edges from around 1,300 to 2,200 m, where they follow mixed-species flocks or feed from fruiting trees.
Spanish Sparrow
Passer hispaniolensis
Similar in size and shape to House Sparrow. Breeding season males have a heavily streaked black breast and back and a rufous crown and nape. Males are duller in the nonbreeding season. Females are very difficult to separate from female House Sparrows but tend to have bigger bills and paler bellies. Colonial, builds huge stick nests, often in/under White Stork nests.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.