Clark's Nutcracker

Medium-sized brown flycatcher with an orangish tail. Note upright posture and broad-based pale bill. Forages quietly and usually singly in the lower levels of forest edge, both through gleaning and flycatching. Breeds in open forests in hilly and montane areas at 1500-3000 meters of elevation; in the winter, favors forest edge and clearings. Song is a descending whistle followed by a brief sputter of shorter notes: “Weee-pewchewchi!”

Small songbird, a member of the Arctic Warbler complex, this species looks essentially identical to Arctic Warbler and Kamchatka Leaf Warbler but is more evenly yellowish. Normally only distinguished in the field by breeding range and song: breeds in forests on all of the main Japanese islands except Hokkaido, where it is replaced in summer by Kamchatka Leaf Warbler. Favors foothill to montane areas with dense brushy understory; can be found in more open wooded habitats in migration and on wintering grounds. Song resembles that of Arctic in general pitch and register but is less uniform, like a more rising and falling version of Arctic’s song. Call also similar but averages lower in pitch.

A pretty and distinctive bird that always lacks the long tail streamers possessed by some paradise-flycatchers. Note the rufous back and tail and the gray underparts. Males and females differ slightly: males have a black cap and a blue eye-ring, whereas females have a dark-gray cap without a distinctive eye-ring. Fairly common on Reunion in all types of humid forest. Rare on Mauritius in remnant rainforest patches. Calls include a tearing “sree-sreeet” and an agitated twittering. The song is a long musical series of “twee” notes.