Rufous-necked Sparrowhawk
Tachyspiza erythrauchen
A small, slender hawk with a yellow bill base, yellow legs, and orange-yellow eyes. Adults are slaty-gray above with a rufous collar and a vinous breast that fades on the belly to light pink in the north Moluccas and to white in the south Moluccas. Immatures are brown and heavily streaked below. Does not soar; typically seen perched. Inhabits tall forest from sea level to foothills. Confined to the Moluccas. Rufous collar of adult separates it from adult Chinese Sparrowhawk, Moluccan Goshawk, and central Moluccan Variable Goshawks. Smaller than Moluccan, Meyer’s, and north Moluccan Variable Goshawks. Paler-bellied than Moluccan and Variable Goshawks. Immature Rufous-necked Sparrowhawk is streaked underneath, without bars, unlike immatures of Moluccan and Variable Goshawks and Chinese Sparrowhawk. Immature Meyer’s Goshawk is similar, but Rufous-necked is smaller-bodied and smaller-billed. Underwings not white with black tips, unlike Chinese Sparrowhawk. Gives a shrill “ki-ki-ki-ki…” series.
Identification
It is mostly grey with a rufous neck with yellow feet and yellow black-tipped bill. The juvenile is brown.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Tachyspiza erythrauchen
- Authority
- Gray, GR, 1861
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Tachyspiza
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-chinned Jacamar
Galbula tombacea
Similar to many other species of jacamar: mostly glittering emerald-green with a rufous belly, long tail, and long pointed bill. Sexes are similar; female has a paler belly. Found in northwestern Amazonia, where pairs occur in the lower to mid-levels of mature lowland forest, often around water. Namesake white chin is not super conspicuous but usually visible. Also note brownish crown. Most similar to Bluish-fronted Jacamar, but apparently no range overlap.
Helmeted Friarbird
Philemon buceroides
Large brownish honeyeater with bare black facial skin and a long, pointed, black bill topped by a small rounded "horn". Uniformly gray-brown with upperparts a darker shade than the underparts. Care should be taken to distinguish it from Silver-crowned Friarbird (which has an angular edge to the upper rear portion of the black facial skin, as well as a slightly larger "horn" on the bill). Also similar is the Noisy Friarbird (which has a completely bare head). Found along the tropical Queensland and Northern Territory coasts—where it can be common in a variety of habitats including parks, gardens, mangroves, and forests. The "Sandstone" subspecies in Arnhem Land is quite different in habitat; it occurs in inland sandstone areas. Typically very loud, with has a variety of harsh, loud squawks, including the "poor devil" call.
Moluccan Cuckooshrike
Coracina atriceps
A large, long-tailed, heavy-billed cuckooshrike. Male has a complete black hood. Female lacks hood, but head is darker gray to blackish, without a clear black throat. Both sexes are largely pale gray above and white-bellied. Singles or pairs inhabit upper levels of forest and edges in lowland and foothills. Confined to the Moluccas. Larger and heavier-billed than Halmahera and Common Cicadabirds, and white belly separates it from those species and from Stout-billed Cuckooshrike. Distinguished from Black-faced Cuckooshrike by the black hood that includes nape and crown. Gives a harsh, accelerating rattle, “grrgrrgrr-grrRT-GRRRT-GRRRT,” and a high-pitched, soft whining “wheeeyoo.”
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