Nicaraguan Grackle
Quiscalus nicaraguensis
Long-tailed blackbird, very similar to Great-tailed Grackle but smaller. Male is darker black with less obvious glossiness (but still some, usually greenish); female is very similar to female Great-tailed but paler below. Extremely limited range in the vicinity of Lake Nicaragua and Lake Managua, where small flocks can be found in open grasslands and wetlands.
识别特征
It is a medium-sized bird with a long, graduated tail and fairly long bill and legs. The bill and legs are black and the eye is pale yellow. The male is about 31 cm long while the female is 25 cm. The adult male's plumage is entirely black with an iridescent gloss. The gloss is violet on the belly and tail, violet-green on the head, back, and breast, and blue-green on most of the wings. The tail of the male is V-shaped, rising from the centre to the outer feathers. Immature males are duller and less glossy than the adults, with a brown belly and thighs. The female is brown above with a pale supercilium (the stripe over the eye), made more obvious by the dark lores and ear coverts. The thighs, flanks, and undertail coverts are dark brown, while the rest of the underparts are buff, darkest on the upper breast, and paler on the throat and belly.<p>The similar great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) overlaps with it in range, but is larger, with a longer tail and larger bill. The male has a less green gloss than the Nicaraguan grackle, while the female is darker below and has a less obvious supercilium.<p>The Nicaraguan grackle has a variety of calls, including a frequent nasal call, various whistling notes, and a sharp, rising whine. The song is a series of whistles, which increase in speed and frequency.
分类信息
- 学名
- Quiscalus nicaraguensis
- 命名信息
- Salvin & Godman, 1891
- 目
- Passeriformes
- 科
- Icteridae
- 属
- Quiscalus
分布与栖息地
It is restricted to western Nicaragua and northern Costa Rica. It mainly occurs in the vicinity of Lake Nicaragua and Lake Managua, but its range has expanded a little due to the clearance of forest and creation of pastures by man. It may be a fairly recent arrival in Costa Rica, where it is found in the Caño Negro area along the Río Frio. It is not migratory, but makes some local movements in response to seasons and changes in water level.<p>It nests only in marshland, but forages in scrubland, wet pastures, and along lake shores and riverbanks.
- 迁徙
- Resident species
行为
It feeds in small groups, foraging on the ground for seeds and insects. It turns over stones or debris to look for food underneath, and often forages on or around cattle.<p>It nests in small colonies in bushes or trees or among marsh vegetation such as sedges. The well-hidden nest is cup-shaped and made from grass and sedge leaves and roots. Two or three eggs are laid; they are blue with dark markings concentrated at the larger end. Only the female incubates the eggs, but both sexes are involved in feeding the young.
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- declining
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Malawi Batis
Batis dimorpha
A cute, dumpy, colorful flycatcher-like bird that flits around in the mid-canopy and understory of forest, forest edge, plantations, and gardens. Males have a broad black chest band, yellow-orange eye, white stripe through the top of the wing, and white throat. Females have an orange eye, buff-and-white stripe through the top of the wing, and rufous chin patch. The song is a series of 8-9 plaintive steady piping “peooop” notes, and calls include buzzing grating “ddrz-drrzt-drrr, ddt-ddzt-drzt-drr”. Female Dark Batis is distinguished by its darker (rich rufous rather than white and buff) wing stripe. Male Dark Batis is very similar, but has a slightly longer tail and broader black breast stripe. Also similar to Chinspot Batis, but has darker orange color to the eyes, and female Malawi Batis shows paler rufous on the throat and buff tinges to the wing stripe.
Chestnut Quail-thrush
Cinclosoma castanotum
Heavily patterned terrestrial bird of eastern South Australia, northwestern Victoria, and western New South Wales. White eyebrow and moustache, with a deep chestnut-brown back and intricately patterned wing. Female has white belly and gray chest, male white belly, gray flanks, and black chest and throat. Note gray sides rather than warm brown sides of Cinnamon and Chestnut-breasted quail-thrushes. Usually seen walking around in areas of open mallee woodland and shrubland. Call a long, high-pitched whistled "seeeep."
Lowland Akalat
Sheppardia cyornithopsis
A small shy akalat found in the lower levels of tall forests, often in dark shady areas near water. Note the reddish-brown back and wings, the gray face, and the bright red-orange chest contrasting with a white belly. Almost always found in lowland forest, but a few local populations are found higher up in the foothills. Within its range, most likely to be confused with Forest Robin, but note Lowland Akalat’s plain gray face and distinctive vocalizations. Song is a series of clear, melancholy whistles given with slight pauses in between, “wheeer, gowheer,” as well as faster, more resonant and metallic series of whistles.
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