Red-bellied Malimbe
Malimbus erythrogaster
A mostly red malimbe found high above the ground in lowland forests, where it probes into clumps of dead leaves and dead branches. Largely red below and black above, but black face and red crown and neck give it a collared appearance. Females are duller than males and have red throats, whereas males have black throats. Found in small groups or with mixed-species flocks, sometimes with other species of malimbe, from which it is distinguished by its wholly red belly. Songs and calls consist of dry, mechanical notes linked together into complex phrases with rasping sounds.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Malimbus erythrogaster
- Authority
- Reichenow, 1893
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ploceidae
- Genus
- Malimbus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Slaty-backed Gull
Larus schistisagus
Thickset, short-winged, pot-bellied gull. Adult has dark gray back and wings, intense pink legs, and an especially large white “crescent” (white tertial edges) near the wingtips when perched. Breeding adult white-headed; nonbreeding birds have variably heavy brown streaking on the head and upper breast. Takes four years for immatures to progress from mostly brown to fully white and gray adult plumage; intermediate plumages are often mottled and messy. Often looks rather frosty by the first winter; starts to develop a gray back and whitish eye in its second year. Primarily an Asian species, found in coastal regions from Japan and South Korea to Russia. Regularly occurs in western Alaska, but very rare elsewhere in North America.
Grenada Flycatcher
Myiarchus nugator
A medium-sized “fly-catching” species of open woodlands and scrub including towns, preferring areas near palms; often sits still on perch for long periods of time before leaping forth in pursuit of insects. Grenada Flycatcher has a dull brown back and a yellow belly that contrasts with its gray chest and throat. The Caribbean Elaenia is passingly similar but is smaller with a proportionately small bill, and it has bold wingbars and dull, low-contrast underparts. Vocalizations include an emphatic low “whip” given in a slow series and sometimes followed by a rolling “pit-it-oooo.” Also, this species gives a shrill “whee,” singly or in series.
Kerguelen Petrel
Aphrodroma brevirostris
Dark ash-gray petrel of cold southern seas. Small- and stout-bodied overall, but with a large, “puffy”-looking head. Note underwing patterning, with a pale “shoulder” separated from pale-based primaries by a broad, diffuse dark bar. Flies quickly and strongly, often arcing up to impressive heights above the waves on angled, sharply kinked wings. Can be difficult to distinguish from other dark medium-sized petrels at a distance, but note pale patches under the wings, overall gray body coloration, relatively large “cute” head, and flight style. Often forages at night. Nests in loose colonies on the Prince Edward, Crozet, and Kerguelen Islands, as well as Gough Island.
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