Opal-rumped Tanager
Tangara velia
Common tanager, found in a variety of forest habitats. Usually seen from below, in which case it is best identified by uniform dark underparts with rufous lower belly and undertail coverts, and active behavior. The shining white rump can be seen from most angles on perched birds, even when high overhead. Found in tall rainforest, shorter-stature forests on sandy soils, and in disturbed areas. Groups move rapidly through treetops, usually with other species of small tanagers, feeding on fruit. Calls are indistinct chips, often given in rapid series in flight.
Taxonomy
In 1743 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the opal-rumped tanager in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "Red-belly'd Blue-bird" ". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a specimen owned by the Duke of Richmond that had been collected in Suriname. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the opal-rumped tanager with the wagtails in the genus Motacilla. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Motacilla velia and cited Edwards' work. Linnaeus provided no explanation for the specific epithet; it is perhaps a misprint for the Ancient Greek elea, a small bird mentioned by Aristotle. The bay-headed tanager is now placed in the genus Tangara that was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The type locality is Suriname.<p>Four subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Tangara velia
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Tangara
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Sepik-Ramu Shrikethrush
Colluricincla tappenbecki
A chunky bird with a thick dark bill. Quite plain: gray-brown on the upperparts and buffy below, with indistinct breast streaking. The breast pattern varies geographically: gray in some areas, contrasting with the buffy belly, and buff in some areas, the same color as the belly. Found at low and middle elevations in humid forest, including secondary forest. Rich, melodious, variable song consists of several penetrating whistles, generally in an up-and-down pattern. Somewhat similar to Rusty Pitohui, but smaller, with a dark rather than pale eye. Similar in size and shape to Sooty Shrikethrush, but never as uniformly blackish. Also similar to Gray Shrikethrush, but smaller, shorter-tailed, and browner, usually with more distinct breast streaking.
Jackson's Hornbill
Tockus jacksoni
A medium-sized black-and-white hornbill. Males have a mostly red bill with a small yellow or white tip; females have an all-black bill. Both sexes show white spotting across the wing. Found locally in dry savanna, usually in pairs or small groups. Similar to Von der Decken’s and Northern Red-billed Hornbills, but separated from the former by the white-spotted wing and from the latter by the yellow-tipped (male) or all-black (female) bill. The call is a series of low clucks.
Sulu Hornbill
Anthracoceros montani
A large bird of lowland and montane forest on the Sulu Islands, although probably only remaining on Tawi-Tawi. Feeds particularly on fig trees. One of the rarest birds in the world. Entirely black except for a white tail. Has a long, thick black bill, a black casque, and black bare skin around the eye. Male has pale eyes and female has brown eyes and a smaller casque. Unmistakable. The only hornbill in its range. Voice is a nasal cackling.
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