Rufous-browed Conebill

Unmistakable swift, with a slender body and a long deeply forked tail, usually held closed. Dark-brown above and whitish below. Often seen in groups and invariably near stands of palm trees in urban and rural areas in which they nest. Steals feathers from the bodies of other live birds in flight.

Unique dark oriole with a restricted range: found only in montane and submontane forests in northwestern Borneo, primarily within the Paya Maga highlands of Sarawak state. Male is inky black all over with a slight blue gloss. Female has a gray belly. Both sexes have a bright red bill and dark rust-red vent. Forages quietly in the canopy, often alone, but sometimes in pairs or small groups. Short echoing song can be likened to “woo-wich’ew!”.

A medium-sized parrot that usually looks all dark. With a good view, note the deep bluish-purple color overall with bronzy wings, messy pink splotches on the upper breast, and red undertail coverts. In flight, the bright blue underwings often stand out. Also look for the very deep wingbeats that seem to almost touch on the downstroke and barely come above horizontal on the upstroke – this helps separate members of the Pionus genus from the larger Amazona parrots. Bronze-winged is fairly common in forest and adjacent clearings in lowlands and foothills, up to around 2,500m. It is usually found in small flocks, most often seen in flight but also perched in the canopy or around fruiting trees.