Yellow-eyed Starling
Aplonis mystacea
A medium-sized bird of lowland forest in southern New Guinea. All glossy black plumage with a bluish sheen, a longish tail and a mane of loose feathers around the neck. Note the yellow eye. Immature has pale underparts and streaking. Sometimes associates with Metallic Starlings. Similar to Singing and Metallic Starlings, but Yellow-eyed, has an obvious yellow eye. Singing also has a shorter tail and is usually found in towns or open areas. Song, similar to that of Metallic Starling. Call, a short raspy flight note.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Aplonis mystacea
- Authority
- (Ogilvie-Grant, 1911)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Sturnidae
- Genus
- Aplonis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Australian Magpie
Gymnorhina tibicen
Large black-and-white bird with long, pale bill with dark tip. Larger than butcherbirds and differently patterned. Black head, face, underparts, white nape, upperwing coverts, and rump, and either black or white back (subspecies vary in plumage). Widespread in farmland, parks, and open woodlands, where usually seen in pairs or groups strutting on the ground. Song a memorable fluty warble.
Leaf Lorikeet
Trichoglossus weberi
A long-tailed, red-billed parrot, mostly lime-green apart from a paler collar, a marginally darker head, and a yellow-green patch on the breast. In flight, shows yellow underwings. Juveniles are duller, with a brown bill. Restricted to the island of Flores, where small groups inhabit forested foothills. Found at higher elevations than Coconut Lorikeet, and lacks the dark blue head and the red on the underparts. Vocal, giving shrill calls typical of lorikeets: “skreeeee.”
Sulphur-breasted Parakeet
Aratinga maculata
A medium-sized, colorful parakeet of eastern Amazonia, local but often fairly common. Plumage is generally yellowish, with greenish upperparts, wings, and tail. Notice the orangish coloration around the eye. Usually in small flocks, foraging in open or semi-open areas with short trees, and sometimes humid forest edges.
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