Gansu Leaf Warbler

A unique dumpy green flycatcher-like broadbill with a buffy crown, a black eye-stripe, and a powder-blue throat and vent. Juvenile duller. A scarce resident found singly and in pairs in the lower canopy and at middle levels of primary Albertine Rift Forest between 1760 and 2500 meters of elevation, preferring the edges of clearings. Highly localized, occurring in two isolated populations in Bwindi (Uganda) and Itombwe/Kahuzi (Democratic Republic of Congo), and inexplicably absent from ideal intervening habitat. May join flocks, but inconspicuous unless calling its soft high-pitched tinny “tsit-tsit,” repeated multiple times, and a rapid “tseet-tsit-tsit-sit-sit-it-it” in flight. 

A small charcoal-colored songbird endemic to New Zealand. Confined to the South and Stewart Islands. Favors native and exotic forest stands. Males have a more distinct separation between dark gray and cream on their chest than females. Juveniles mirror the look of a female but with less to no cream underneath. Can be incredibly confiding and curious about humans. It is possible to bring individuals out into the open by disturbing leaf litter and then sitting quietly. Actively flushes out prey with foot trembling and by flicking its wings and tail. Male song is a loud and simple phrase of notes including “pwee-pwee-pwee.”

Deep blue ground-dweller with shining forehead and shoulder patches; belly can appear mottled blue-and-black in the right lighting. Inhabits foothills and montane forests, where it sticks closely to water, especially rocky streams and smaller rivers with overhanging vegetation and rocky ledges. Song is an eerie and human-like series of variable, deliberate-sounding whistles. Call is a high thin “tseeeeee.”