New Zealand Bellbird

A small black-and-white monarch. White below except for black throat and breast. Black above with a large white wing patch and a white cheek that is contiguous with the white underparts. Endemic to the Solomon Islands excluding Malaita. Mostly found in primary forest, often in bamboo thickets. Most common calls include high-pitched whistles and harsh scolding notes. Formerly grouped with Malaita Monarch under the rather unidentifying name of “Black-and-white Monarch.”

A small, stocky, martin-like swallow that has dark upperparts mottled around the hindneck and back, rusty throat with an indistinct partial dark collar, and a paler buffy belly. In flight, rusty rump and white blotches in the tail are distinctive. Pairs and small flocks are residents and partial migrants foraging over open grassland and rivers, often nesting on cliffs, buildings, or bridges. Calls include a high-pitched twittering, especially at colonies. During May to August overlaps with intra-African migrant South African Swallow, which is very similar to Red-throated Swallow, but is larger and bulkier, lacks white in the tail, and has dark breast mottling forming a smudgy collar.

An appropriately named chunky petrel, distinctive in its bland coloration and lack of patterning. Silvery gray-brown above, with a white belly and pale throat. Underwing is dark and unmarked. Bill is pale yellowish with dark contours. Simple bicolored coloration separates this species from other petrels, and chunky proportions and stubby-billed profile distinguish it from similar-looking shearwaters. Follows cold-water currents throughout the southern seas, flying rapidly and directly on stiffly-held wings. Breeds on islands in the southern Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, favoring steep slopes with ample ground cover.