Dusky Myzomela
Myzomela obscura
Small, entirely dark sooty-brown honeyeater. Very plain and lacking any colorful distinctive features. Take care to separate from Brown Honeyeater (which is much paler, has yellow on the wings and a triangular patch behind the eye), female Scarlet Myzomela (which is smaller, paler, and has a longer bill), and White-gaped Honeyeater (which has a white patch near the bill). Found in southern New Guinea and northern and eastern Australia. Typically lives in coastal habitats, including parks and gardens, where vegetation is not sparse.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Myzomela obscura
- Authority
- Gould, 1843
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Meliphagidae
- Genus
- Myzomela
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Cheer Pheasant
Catreus wallichii
A large, pale pheasant with a long tail, an untidy crest, and red skin around the eye. The male is pale gray, barred throughout, with thick black bands on the tail, a rust-colored lower back, and a dark belly. The female is browner with white streaks on the body, white bars on the tail, a rust-colored belly, and black spots on the breast. Shy, often found in small groups along steep, grassy hillsides in the Himalayas. Quite noisy, usually delivering a series of thin and scratchy notes.
Mrs. Hume's Pheasant
Syrmaticus humiae
Dashingly plumaged, long-tailed terrestrial bird. Male has chestnut body, steely blue neck and wing patches, white wingbars, and a long black-and-white banded tail. Brownish female shorter-tailed, with black-spotted upperparts and red facial patch. Usually found singly, in pairs, or in trios in forest openings, meadows, and along rural roadsides, typically in the early morning.
African Swamphen
Porphyrio madagascariensis
When seen in good light, shows spectacular purple, green, and pale blue coloration. In dull light, looks dark, but still shows red bill and feet and white undertail. Found in freshwater and brackish wetlands with thick vegetation, mainly at low and middle elevations. Gives a loud trumpeting call. Coloration similar to Allen’s Gallinule, but chunkier and larger, with a much larger bill. Larger than Eurasian Moorhen, with brighter coloration, red legs, and no yellow tip to the bill.
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