Blue-headed Bee-eater

A small and fairly dull brown finch-like bird. Male has an extensive black patch on the face which stretches from the crown down to the throat, while female has a bright orange bill. Both sexes are light brown above and dirty white below. Inhabits dry and open areas with sparse ground cover where it forages on the ground in small flocks.

A fairly small bird of lowland and foothill forest and edge; endemic to Samar, Leyte, and Bohol, though lumped with Calabarzon Babbler under “Black-crowned Babbler” by some taxonomies. Has a gray back and cheek with fine pale streaks, dark wings and tail with white outer tail feathers, white underparts, a pale rufous throat, and a black crown. Note the slender black bill. Often joins mixed-species flocks and sometimes hangs upside down while feeding. Somewhat similar to Green-backed Whistler, especially from below, but smaller, with a pale rufous throat and a black crown. Voice includes a medium-pitched “poo piuu!” with the second note downslurred.

Fairly common but local in higher foothills of the Andes. Found in scrubby valleys, often in villages and adjacent agricultural terraces. Usually seen as singles or pairs, feeding on the ground near cover or singing from a prominent rock or post. Very similar to Buff-breasted Earthcreeper. The two species often occur together and even nest in the same bank, but their songs differ. White-throated Earthcreeper also has slightly more contrasting plumage with a bolder pale eyebrow and a paler throat, but not strikingly white.