New Zealand Bellbird
Anthornis melanura
A medium-sized nectar feeder endemic to New Zealand. Note yellowish-green plumage, blackish wings and tail, and red eyes. Male has purple tints on his head. Female browner, with a bluish gloss on the head. Juveniles show a clear yellowish cheek stripe. Widespread in the North and South Islands of New Zealand. Favors native and exotic forest, scrub, and urban parks and gardens. Listen for its melodious song consisting of a series of tuneful notes. Alarm call is a harsh, rapidly repeated “yeng.” Distinguished from European Greenfinch by lack of a pale, conical bill and larger size. Listen for lack of grunts, wheezes, and clicks to distinguish song from that of Tui.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Anthornis melanura
- Authority
- (Sparrman, 1786)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Meliphagidae
- Genus
- Anthornis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Island Scrub-Jay
Aphelocoma insularis
The largest and darkest scrub-jay, identifiable solely based on range: found exclusively on Santa Cruz Island off southern California. Similar to California Scrub-Jay but larger, with darker back and darker mask. Inhabits scrubby woodland habitat, often on or near the ground. Typically found in small family groups.
Brown Dipper
Cinclus pallasii
A chocolate-brown, short-tailed thrush-like bird of clear, flowing streams. No other stream bird in its range is dark brown all over (adult) or dark brown mottled with pale (juvenile). Plunges into streams, swimming and diving to capture prey like a seabird. Seldom found more than a few feet away from water. Uses any moving water so long as it is clear and open--even hot-spring fed pools in the dead of winter. Song a rich and variable series of trilling and rattling notes. Often gives a buzzy “zeet” in flight.
White-shouldered Antshrike
Thamnophilus aethiops
Shy antshrike found in understory of lowland and foothill rainforest. Male is dark gray or black; he also has small white dots on the shoulder and a white line at the bend of the wing, but these features are not always evident in the field. Female is plain brown; on the western edge of the range, she also has a black face, throat, and tail. Usually first detected by voice: song is a soft series of evenly spaced, nasal caws.
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