Chestnut-bellied Partridge
Arborophila javanica
Brilliantly colored small partridge of montane and foothill forests. Often difficult to see in the gloom and tangle of shaded vegetation, but note slate-gray back and chest, rusty belly, and bright orange-and-black face pattern. Like other Arborophila partridges, typically forages on the forest floor in small groups. Song is a fast and gradually rising series of “whew” notes; when duetting, one bird gives the aforementioned song while its partner gives a slower, lower-pitched “boo-goo, boo-goo, boo-goo.”
Taxonomy
The chestnut-bellied partridge was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the grouse like birds in the genus Tetrao and coined the binomial name Tetrao javanicus. Gmelin based his description on the "Javan partridge" that had been described and illustrated in 1776 by the English naturalist Peter Brown. The chestnut-bellied partridge is now one of around twenty species placed in the genus Arborophila that was introduced in 1837 by the English naturalist Brian Houghton Hodgson. The genus name combines the Latin arbor, arboris meaning "tree" with the Ancient Greek philos meaning "-loving".<p>Two subspecies of chestnut-bellied partridge are recognized:
- Scientific name
- Arborophila javanica
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Arborophila
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Great Bustard
Otis tarda
Huge, unmistakable, regal bird of treeless open plains and natural steppes, occupying some low-intensity agricultural areas. Walks in a stately manner, but may run rather than fly if disturbed. Flight is heavy and gooselike. Highly gregarious, especially in winter. Males are much larger than the females and the sexes do not mix much outside of the breeding season. Spectacular "foaming bath" display at leks (display sites) as males bristle their body and wing feathers forward, turning them white, while burying their head in the plumage.
Bolle's Pigeon
Columba bollii
Endemic to the Canary Islands, where it is found in laurel and tree heath forests on mountain slopes. Shy and difficult to observe unless flushed. Plumage is largely gray with a purple-pink breast band. Smaller than the co-occurring Laurel Pigeon from which it differs in having contrasting wings with dark flight feathers, a dark tail with a gray band and yellowish eyes. Gives deep, hoarse coos, quite different from those of Laurel Pigeon.
Yellow Cardinal
Gubernatrix cristata
Striking yellow and black songbird. Note the black pointed crest. Males have a yellow eyebrow and moustachial stripe; females have a white moustacial stripe and grayish cheeks and breast. Occurs in open woodlands, avoiding grasslands and human-modified landscapes. Forages on the ground in pairs or in family groups. Has a melodic song, a series of variable whistles: “wir-wit-chu wir-wit-chu twiit wit-chu tiit wit-chu tiit.” Now very rare because of illegal capture for the cagebird trade.
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