Ruddy Cuckoo-Dove

Uncommon in forest, marshes, and mangroves, where usually greatly outnumbered by similar Common Black Hawk. Slightly larger and lankier than Common Black Hawk, with longer legs and tail, and adults of the two species have very different calls in flight. Adult Great Black has 2 white tail bands (1 on Common) and less extensive yellow in face. Immature looks whiter-headed than Common (no big black moustaches), and its longer tail has narrower and more numerous pale bars. Usually warier than Common, which can be quite unconcerned by people.

The great tail- and wing-fanning courtship display of the male Great Argus is among the most remarkable on Earth. At rest, the long feathers and tail feathers give the blue-headed male an excessively lengthy, freight-train-like appearance. Female more warmly colored than male but lacks long plumes and has paler blue head. Inhabits lowland to foothill forests with a relatively thin understory and mature trees, from which the male’s lovelorn-sounding courtship call “kow-WOW” resonates loudly, even as it remains frustratingly hidden.

A nondescript sparrow-sized songbird with a slender, downcurved bill. Entirely olive-green above and uniform pale gray below, but note head pattern, which includes a prominent whitish smudge on the cheeks and dull bare skin below the eye. Juvenile has a pink facial patch. Singles, pairs, or groups inhabit scrubland, wooded areas, and coconut plantations in lowlands. Confined to islets in the Moluccas and to West Papua, where it is readily identified by its head pattern. Harsh, squeaky vocalizations include “tchew” and “grrt” notes and “chi-witchoo” or “witch-oo” phrases.