Socotra Starling

Dull brown bulbul with a long slender bill and pale gray eyes. Gray-eyed Bulbul is very similar but has darker, buffier underparts and is more warmly-colored overall; ironically, Gray-eyed Bulbul’s buffy rump is brighter. Olive Bulbuls are dark-eyed and darker overall, with little to no contrast between upper- and underparts. Inhabits forest and forest edge from lowlands up into the foothills. Gives sharp, high “whit” and “cher-wit” calls.

A sunbird masquerading as a warbler, this medium-sized sunbird of forest and forest edge is often found in small groups or mixed-species flocks searching the understory deliberately for insects. Overall yellow-green with more olive tones to the head. Has distinctive pale spectacles around its eye and a large, slightly decurved bill. Could be confused with longbills, but note Fraser’s Sunbird’s decurved bill and noticeable spectacles around the eyes. Calls include a short, dry “tiktiktik!” The song is a longer set of sunbird-like notes with noticeable pauses in between, varying in quality from clear whistles to trills: “dree, djier, drtil, drtil.” 

A fairly small and very dull-looking flycatcher. Grayish brown above and whitish below with a thin white eyering, three pale wingbars, and pinkish base to the bill. Note the round head with only a very slight crested appearance. Found in woodlands and edges up to around 1,200 m. Breeds from southern Brazil to central Argentina, migrating north in the austral winter to far northern South America. Extremely similar to White-crested Elaenia, which tends to show a less obvious eyering and has only two wingbars. Note vocalizations, which include a slightly burry “wh’eer” call, a fast complex “tweedle-twee,” and single “pip” notes.