White-faced Cuckoo-Dove

A tiny stub-tailed green parrot with a golden-bronze back, a narrow red throat, a bright red rump, and a small red shoulder patch. Juveniles are duller and more poorly marked. Singles or small groups occur within treetops of forest and nearby secondary growth areas in the lowlands. No other tiny green, short-tailed parrot occurs within its limited range in the Sula and Banggai islands. Very high-pitched calls include “zeet-weet-wit,” rising in pitch at the end. Sometimes birds only utter the first two notes or single “zeet” notes.

A medium-sized bird of lower-elevation montane forest floor and undergrowth on Luzon. Prefers thick undergrowth with moss, ferns, and a steep slope. Brown on the back and sides with a red belly, a blue chest, tail, and edge of the wing, rufous on the back of the head, a dark face with a pale moustache, and a pale line behind the eye. Very similar to Blue-breasted Pitta, but Whiskered usually occurs at higher elevations, has an obvious whisker on the face, and has a brown rather than green back. Song is a long, mournful downslurred note followed by several shorter ones, “doooo doo-doo-doo-doo!”

A tiny dark brown woodpecker. Unlike its closest relatives, it lacks a crest, and has a longer-headed profile. Look for pale wing barring and a dirty-cream stripe down the neck. Inhabits both primary and secondary forests in lowland and foothill areas, where it can often be found in the lower levels of vegetation, pecking at ant and termite nests, fallen trunks, and hanging vegetation. Often in mixed flocks and family units. Gives a rattling trill that starts off quietly and quickly becomes, and stays, loud. Also gives shorter “wick!” and “kwee” calls.