Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill

Lophoceros camurus

A small hornbill of lowland forest whose haunting duets are not easily forgotten. Its blood-red bill can be surprisingly hard to make out when backlit in the subcanopy, as can the dusky red-brown plumage on its back, chest, and wings. From below, shows a white belly and a darker chest and head. Often found by its easily imitated call that is given solo or as a duet: a series of 10-15 wavering whistles that quaver and descend in pitch over the course of 5-6 seconds.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Lophoceros camurus
Authority
(Cassin, 1857)
Order
Bucerotiformes
Family
Bucerotidae
Genus
Lophoceros

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
declining

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Red-pate Cisticola

Red-pate Cisticola

Cisticola ruficeps

A small but strong-billed cisticola that is rich gray-brown on the back and pale below. The back is plain in breeding plumage and heavily streaked in the non-breeding season. Note the black band and pale tips across the end of the tail. Found locally in savanna and dry woodland. Very similar to Dorst’s Cisticola, and best distinguished by song, but has a brighter rufous cap and whiter underparts. Also similar to Foxy and Rufous Cisticolas, but larger, with a rufous cap that contrasts with the gray-brown back. Perches up to sing a brief squeaky warbled phrase, thin and high-pitched.

Cerulean Cuckooshrike

Cerulean Cuckooshrike

Coracina temminckii

A large, uniform blue-gray cuckooshrike with a rather long tail, a pale eye, and a black mark between the bill and the eye. Juveniles show barred underparts. Singles, pairs, or small groups inhabit the canopy of montane forest in the foothills and higher. Often joins mixed-species flocks. The only entirely bluish-gray cuckooshrike with a pale eye on Sulawesi. Gives a harsh, rasping “shhhhhhchu” call as well as a very high-pitched “sweee-sweee-sweee” that rises in volume at the end.

Yellow-bellied Siskin

Yellow-bellied Siskin

Spinus xanthogastrus

Small boldly patterned finch. Male has black hood, yellow belly, and yellow wing patch. Female much drabber, overall dull yellowish-green but still shows yellow wing patch. Most often seen in pairs, often perched in the canopy but sometimes lower. Usually close to forest, but hangs around clearings and edges.

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