Chinese Pond-Heron

The breeding male is buff, chestnut, and black with a 21-centimeter tail that is laterally flattened with both short bulging feathers and long, tapering dagger-like feathers. The female and non-breeding male have a strongly contrasting black-and-white head, including a characteristic dark bill and a double “C” pattern under the ear. The males aggressively hold territories, but small groups forage together in dry and moist savanna. After breeding, they flock with other seedeaters. This whydah gives dry chip calls and imitates the calls of the Green-winged Pytilia, which it parasitizes. The Broad-tailed Paradise-Whydah differs from the Eastern Paradise-Whydah as follows: the breeding male has a shorter broader tail; the non-breeding male and female have a paler bill and a plainer facial pattern.

Unmistakable ground dove. Brownish above and whitish below. Note the black spotting on the wings and the yellow eye-ring and legs. In flight the tail is V-shaped, with black sides and white tips. Found in grasslands and at the woodland edge, where it feeds on the ground. The song is a series of high-pitched “wha-ooop...wha-ooop...wha-ooop...” notes.

A small bird of foothill and low-elevation montane forest on Mindanao. Dark brown above with a rufous tail, a white belly, a pale gray chest, and a buffy face and throat. Forages low down or on the ground and may sit motionless for periods of time. Similar to female Little Slaty Flycatcher, but has a rufous tail, a brown throat, and black rather than orange legs. Gives a short descending trill.