Malaita Cicadabird

A distinctive barn-owl species confined to Taliabu in the Moluccas. Shows a characteristic heart-shaped pale face bordered with a broad black line. Underparts are dingy buff with scattered spotting. Upperparts, top of head, and nape are largely uniform dark brown with indistinct pale spots. Thinly distributed in a variety of habitats including forest, forest edge, bamboo thickets, and open areas across a broad elevational range. Unmistakable: the only barn-owl species on Taliabu. Call is a coarse, shrill high-pitched shriek: “sheeeer.”

Medium-sized, long-tailed, sluggish bird that occurs in a variety of humid forest types. Males are iridescent blue with a yellow belly; females are mostly grayish where males are blue. Yellow eyering visible at close range; note finely barred outer tail feathers. Sits still and makes abrupt short flights to forage on large insect prey; also eats fruit. Song is a quick series of barking notes. Similar to Green-backed Trogon, but slightly smaller with a complete eyering, different tail pattern, and faster song.

A small, slim wheatear. Males striking: black wings contrast with a whitish back and crown and a black mask through the eye. Throat can be white or black. Females have a more muted version of the male’s overall pattern. The tail has a complicated black-and-white pattern that is conspicuous in flight. Found in open habitats with scattered trees, including savanna, rocky mountain slopes, and barren pastures. The song is a quick, exuberant jumble of scratchy notes. Very similar to Western Black-eared Wheatear, but usually distinguished by being much paler and more washed-out overall, with only a hint of a yellowish wash on the head, back, and breast. Also similar to Pied Wheatear, but male’s black face patch is not connected to the black wing, and female is slightly warmer and browner than the grayish female Pied.