Chowchilla

A small honeyeater of forest on small islands off New Guinea and New Britain. Dark brown upperparts with pale yellow underparts, streaky chest and whitish underwings. Male has a black head and a bright red throat whereas the female only has a faint red chinspot. Male is unmistakable. Female similar to female Black or Olive-backed Sunbirds, but has a slightly streaky throat and chest. Also similar to female Red Myzomela, but female Sclater’s lacks the red tail and forehead. Call, a simple high-pitch “chip”.

A bulky, heavyset bird with a murderous-looking hooked bill. Very similar in appearance to Himalayan Cutia, but ranges do not overlap. Male has blue-gray crown and wing patch, midnight-black mask, orange back and rump, and black-barred white underparts. Female of southern population is much duller, with a dark brown head and streaked brown back. (Northern female has not yet been described.) Inhabits both broadleaved and coniferous hill forest. Moves sluggishly, often in mixed flocks. Song is loud and repetitive, consisting of somewhat twangy whistles and more fluid, warbled notes.

A small, black-and-white hornbill with a petite red bill; male has a black base to the mandible. Pairs occur in open savanna with sparse ground cover, where they hop on the ground foraging for invertebrates. The territorial display, given with the head bowed and wings spread, starts with a series of “kok-kok-kok” notes, becoming a rolling bisyllabic “kokok-kokok”. Similar Damara Red-billed Hornbill differs by having brown (not yellow) eyes and an unmarked creamy white head and neck. Jackson’s Hornbill is larger, with a more robust bill and dark face and eyes. Crowned Hornbill has a solidly brown back and orange bill.