Tuamotu Kingfisher

Todiramphus gambieri

A medium-sized, largely pale kingfisher with a pale whitish buffy neck and head, a variable green crown spot, and white underparts. Has a greenish back and more bluish-purple wings. A thin greenish line extends back from the dark eye. Found in forest, coconut plantations, and gardens. Unique within its range.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Todiramphus gambieri
Order
Coraciiformes
Family
Halcyonidae
Genus
Todiramphus

Photos

Distribution

Other Birds

Yellow-breasted Racquet-tail

Yellow-breasted Racquet-tail

Prioniturus flavicans

A large green parrot with a thin pair of tail rackets, confined to North Sulawesi and satellite islands. Entirely green, except for distinct yellow wash on breast and collar. Males show a small red crown patch. Juveniles lack rackets. Found in pairs and groups in canopy of forests and edges in lowlands and foothills. Prominent yellow breast and large size of this species distinguish it from Golden-mantled Racquet-tail. If rackets are not seen, note the silvery-gray bill, unlike Blue-naped Parrot. Noisy, giving varied vocalizations. Song is a high-pitched “kut-ut-ut-kler-kler.” Also gives screeches, squeaking, piping, and ear-splitting “kraa” notes.

Ochre-breasted Pipit

Ochre-breasted Pipit

Anthus nattereri

Fairly distinctive for a pipit: blackish-brown above, including the wings, with bright golden feather edgings giving it a boldly streaked appearance. The chest and flanks are buff and lightly streaked. Look for the buffy-yellow eyebrow. Mostly encountered in well-preserved natural grasslands, favoring short grass areas that have regenerated after fires. Gives a series of sharp twittering notes ending with a slurred “eeeeeeeur.”

Little Sparrowhawk

Little Sparrowhawk

Tachyspiza minulla

A tiny, secretive and inconspicuous hawk that flies quickly and nimbly within woodland thickets and forest while hunting small birds, other vertebrates, and insects. It has a very distinctive white rump and two pale spots on the upper tail. Call is a distinctive high-pitched bisyllabic, down-and-upslurred “chy-lip”. Similarly-plumaged African Goshawk is much larger; Red-thighed Sparrowhawk is similar in size but prefers dense rainforest, is more rufous below, and generally lacks barring on the underside.

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