Micronesian Starling

A medium-sized bird of mid-montane forest. Yellow belly, olive back and white throat. Male has a black head and border to the throat. Female has a brown head and diffuse olive chest band. The male is similar to several other golden whistlers but lacks the yellow patch behind the head. Female is similar to Regent, Lorentz’s and Vogelkop Whistler’s but has white throat and brown head. Voice, a series of typical whistlerlike “chew!” or “whip!” notes that get louder and end with an explosive quality.

A fairly large gray bird with a heavy bill, a prominent black blotch between bill and eye, and a white underside. Found singly or in pairs in forest edges and open environments with trees, avoiding dense forest. The smaller Manus Cicadabird is the only other cuckooshrike in its limited range on the Admiralty Islands; the cuckooshrike can be distinguished from the cicadabird by its white belly. Gives “kitcheek” or “sh-zick” calls.

A small, fork-tailed, sooty-brown swallow with different plumages for the sexes: distinctive male has a pure white head and narrow black eye stripe; female has a mostly ashy head with white throat. Immature lacks white on the head. Pairs use clearings and edges of evergreen forest, open woodland, and cultivation. Resident in East Africa, but an intra-African breeding migrant in Zambia and Malawi between October and May. Superficially more similar to swifts than other swallows. Note the differences in flight style: flightier with deep wing beats and rapid changes of direction, as opposed to the more stiff-winged flight of swifts.