Caucasian Snowcock

A large, rare Hawaiian Honeycreeper of high elevation wet forests on eastern Maui. Its bushy, forward-pointing crest is distinctive. May appear mostly black at a distance or in misty weather. Juveniles are less brightly colored than adults. Usually found foraging in the forest canopy giving loud and boisterous songs and calls. The song is a varied series of gurgles, whistles, and buzzes. Aggressively chases other birds away from flowering trees.

A small, slender plain apalis with sooty-gray upperparts, pale gray underparts, a pale throat, and a shortish white-tipped gray-brown tail; eyes are red-brown. Juvenile is paler than adult, with dingy yellowish underparts. A local resident inhabiting middle levels of both primary and patchy degraded forest, especially along streams, in the northeast Congo Basin, where no similar apalises occur. Vocalizations include a rapid, monotonous strident “swit-swit-swit-swit” and “tet-tet-tet.”

A charismatic and eccentric-looking cuckoo. Pale off-white body contrasts with dark wings and tail. Its shaggy orangey crest is usually held cocked. Also note the yellow bill and eyering. Usually seen in groups in open areas such as scrub, agricultural fields, grasslands, and the edge of urban areas. Very noisy and sociable; gives a series of descending notes “pio-pio pio-pio-pirrrrr.”