White-bellied Crested Flycatcher

Uncommon throughout most of its range, this elusive rock thrush breeds in rocky hill forest in northeastern China and Russia and migrates down the East Asian coast to winter in southern China and mainland Southeast Asia. Beautiful and distinctive male has a blue crown, orange underparts, and black wings marked with a bright white patch; small white patch on throat is not obvious and difficult to see. Female is brown with scaly markings on her back and breast; she lacks a pale crescent behind the eye. Usually stays low in shrubbery, but male will sing from an exposed perch.

A mostly green medium-sized parrot with a contrasting head, gray in females and yellow in males. Shows a blue underwing in flight. Inhabits lowland forest edge, including coconut plantations, parks, and gardens, up to at least 1750 meters of elevation. Bulkier than Cardinal, White-naped, Yellow-bibbed, and Purple-bellied Lories, with slower wingbeats, and lacks the mostly red color of those species. The similar Eclectus Parrot is larger with a bigger bill, and male is also green but has a red underwing. Singing Parrot’s voice includes a wide variety of harsh cries and a whistling bell-like song.

A large weaver with a long, thin pointed bill. The male has a pale eye, and during the breeding season a brownish wash to the face. The female has a brown eye and an olive-brown belly. The species occupies open country, where it often breeds in mixed-species colonies over water or in large isolated trees. The chattering and rasping song is long and complex. The smaller Southern Brown-throated Weaver has a chunkier bill than Cape Weaver; its male has a better defined brown throat and its female has a white belly. African Golden-Weaver has reddish eyes, and Holub’s Golden-Weaver has an unstreaked yellowish back.