Halmahera Cuckooshrike

A bold and adaptable songbird of wooded areas, ranging from open forests to parks and gardens. Dark above and white below; note slender white eyebrows, black chest band, and white-tipped black tail. Combination of all-white belly and plain back separates this species from similar dark fantails within its range. Very active, often bobbing and fanning its tail. Frequently joins mixed-species flocks. Song is a very high-pitched, squeaky “chee-wee-chee-wee-chee-wee-chit”, with a short, falling last note. Calls include harsh churring and high-pitched squeaky chattering.

Fairly small antshrike. Males are dark gray with a black throat. Females are tinged brown above and tawny below with a contrasting whitish throat. Found in the understory of lowland humid forest. Often leads mixed-species flocks; occasionally attends army-ant swarms. Sings a series of gradually ascending notes that ends with a harsh final note. Similar to Cinereous Antshrike, which can occur in the same flocks, but differs in throat color and in song.

An overall sooty-colored cuckooshrike with broad white tips to the tail feathers. Male is dark sooty-gray with a slaty sheen, slightly paler on rump. Underparts paler toward tail; wings black. Female is very similar to male, but paler in general, often weakly barred with dark and pale gray on underparts. Male has a black mask, while female has dark lores and a faint eyering. Juvenile is blackish-brown above and brownish-gray below, heavily scaled whitish all over, with broad white tips on wing feathers. Immature like female, but more strongly and extensively barred below. Song is a loud series of whistles “pe-pe-pe-peew-peew-pew”; sometimes the starting notes are skipped. Found in all types of woodlands, including broad-leaved forests, sometimes even near cultivation during non-breeding season.