Iriomote Tit

Sittiparus olivaceus

Reddish-brown songbird with a black crown and throat and olive-gray wings. Resident in broadleaf evergreen forests, especially in higher elevations, but poorly known. Endemic to Iriomote and Ishigaki Islands, in the southern Ryukyu Islands. Formerly considered conspecific with Varied Tit, and plumage intermediate between Varied Tit and Owston’s Tit, but neither has Iriomote’s olive wash on wings. Song resembles Japanese Tit, and nasal call recalls Varied Tit but drier.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Sittiparus olivaceus
Authority
Kuroda, Nm, 1923
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Paridae
Genus
Sittiparus

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
unknown

Photos

Distribution

Other Birds

Chatham Islands Petrel

Chatham Islands Petrel

Pterodroma axillaris

Gadfly petrel of medium size. Dark gray upperparts and white below with a diagonal black bar from the edge of the wing to the black base of the underwing. Has a black bill, a dark eye-patch, and pink legs and feet. Breeds only on the Chatham Islands, but can forage up 3000 km offshore. Migrates to deep waters off the South American coast. Distinguished from Black-winged Petrel by the reduced black bar on the underwing; Mottled Petrel is similar but larger, with a dark belly, lacking the diagonal bar on the wing.

Malayan Peacock-Pheasant

Malayan Peacock-Pheasant

Polyplectron malacense

Odd-looking stumpy pheasant. Dull brown with iridescent green and blue eye-spots on the upperparts; these are much brighter and more prominent in the male. Also note male’s more thickset appearance, brighter red facial skin, and strange forward-pointing crest. Moves quietly through lowland rainforest; males give complex displays during the breeding season.

White-crested Elaenia

White-crested Elaenia

Elaenia albiceps

Rather variable little flycatcher, easily identified in southern South America (where no similar species occur), but looks similar to several other elaenia species farther north. Common summer resident in forest, woodland, and matorral with taller trees. Note white-based crest, narrow white eyering, and whitish wingbars. A population in the deserts of northern Chile and Peru with spikier crest and duller wingbars is a common resident in scrub and farmland with taller trees. Another population in the Andes from Bolivia to Ecuador has a weaker crest where the white base is sometimes concealed. Populations are vocally distinct, and may represent separate species.

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