Golden-backed Mountain Tanager

Small cuckooshrike with a restricted range, found only on Biak and Numfor Islands, off of West Papua, Indonesia. Males are uniformly blackish-gray. Females are brown on the back, gray on the head, and buff below with fine spots. Found in forest and forest edge. Vocalizations are poorly known, but include a slurred whistle given over and over. Distinctive within its small range.

A large, spectacular, slender, carmine-pink-and-teal-blue bee-eater with a long pointed tail, black bill, and black facial mask. The immature is duller and shorter-tailed. It gathers in large groups that often attend bush fires, and it specializes in catching large flying insects, including dragonflies, butterflies, and locusts. Breeds colonially by burrowing into sandbanks. It has a complex three-stage migration; it generally breeds between 13–20°S from August–September, disperses south of the breeding area December–March, and then moves north of the breeding area April–August. “Trik-trik-trik” calls are more guttural than those of European Bee-eater. Similar Northern Carmine Bee-eater has a teal-colored (not carmine) chin and throat.

Male has dark slaty-gray head, neck, and upper breast; rest of the body is pale gray, with white on the belly. Wings darker than mantle. Female lacks the black hood, and has a whitish supercilium, brownish-gray upperparts with lightly barred back and rump, and buff-white underparts with wide brown bars. Juvenile is similar to female, but upperparts barred white. Immature similar to female. Song is a series of clear, loud whistles: “pee-pe-pe-pe-pe-twe-twee.” Some notes can be omitted, or additional notes added.