Rufous-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher
Ceyx rufidorsa
Tiny, unbelievably cute kingfisher: a luminous ball of pink, orange, yellow, and varying amounts of blue and purple. Brightly-colored back distinguishes this species from closely related Black-backed Dwarf-Kingfisher. Forages in shaded patches of dense vegetation, in mangroves, overgrown edge, or deep lowland and foothill forest. Can be near or away from water; when near water, often near shallow forest streams and small pools. Gives high squeaks and thin whistles, often as paired notes.
Taxonomy
The rufous-backed dwarf kingfisher was formally described in 1847 by the English naturalist Hugh Edwin Strickland under the current binomial name Ceyx rufidorsa. He specified the type locality as Malacca at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula. The specific epithet combines Latin rufus meaning "rufous" with dorsus meaning "back".<p>The rufous-backed dwarf kingfisher was formerly considered to be a colour morph of the black-backed dwarf kingfisher (Ceyx erithaca). The two species complex was known as the "oriental dwarf kingfisher". Molecular genetic studies have shown that Ceyx rufidorsa is a distinct taxon and that the polymorphism is the result of ancient introgression in which some genes from Ceyx erithaca were transferred to Ceyx rufidorsa around 140,000 years ago.<p>Five subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Ceyx rufidorsa
- Authority
- Strickland, 1847
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Alcedinidae
- Genus
- Ceyx
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Chatham Islands Gerygone
Gerygone albofrontata
Small warbler endemic to the Chatham Islands of New Zealand. Note dull olive-brown upperparts and white to yellowish plumage below. Distinctive red eye. Males are larger and have a white forehead, eyebrows, chest, and belly. Females have more subtle coloring. Juveniles have brown eyes and a noticeable yellowish tinge to their underparts. Confined to southern forests and scrub. Forages for insects from tree trunks and leaves. Will come to the ground to forage, often in small family flocks. Listen for loud male song, a repeated 4-note phrase “chi-ch-ch-ch.” Some nests are parasitized by larger Shining Bronze-Cuckoo. Distinguishable from Silvereye by lack of distinctive white eye-ring.
Malabar Barbet
Psilopogon malabaricus
A chunky green barbet with diagnostic red over its entire face, forehead, throat, and breast. It has a diffuse blue band on the sides of the head and breast, while a thick black traverse band separates the blue parts from the red. Some faint streaking visible below on an otherwise green ground color. Juvenile is duller green, lacks the prominent face pattern of the adult, sports a gray band instead of blue, and shows some yellow among the red feathers. Juvenile is best told from a juvenile Coppersmith Barbet by its unstreaked underparts. Malabar Barbet is heard more often than seen. Its call is a fast paced “kuk-kuk-kuk,” doubtfully separable from that of a Coppersmith by its sometimes slightly faster pace. Malabar sticks to the wetter jungles of the Western Ghats and does not occupy the drier or more open habitats of the Coppersmith, though in some localities both species co-occur.
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
Leucosticte tephrocotis
The most widespread rosy-finch. Body is the color of milk chocolate. Look for pink highlights in the wings, tail and belly. Several different populations; some have gray wrapping around the back of the head only above the eye, others have entirely gray cheek. Breeds at the highest elevations; descends to lower elevations in winter. Often in mixed flocks in winter with other rosy-finches. Feeds on seeds and insects. Look for them foraging on alpine snowfields. Visits feeders, primarily in winter.
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