Greater Lophorina

Distinctive, large bulky gray pigeon with a pale neck patch (lacking on juvenile in late summer–autumn). Neck patch is large and white throughout majority of range, but birds in Azores, Madeira, and much of western Asia have smaller, tan-colored patches. Bold white wing band striking in flight; tail broadly tipped black. Inhabits wooded and semiopen habitats, including towns and gardens. Forms flocks, especially in winter. Often rather unaware, and frequently crashes noisily and clumsily out of hedges and bushes. Display flight consists of a flap-flap-flap climb followed by a descending glide. Gives a low, throaty series of coos: “hrrruu-hoo-who-who.”

A fairly small bird of wooded areas on the Bay Islands. Low crest is flattened at the front and rounded at the back. Male is glossy black with a purplish-blue iridescence. Female is medium gray above, pale gray below with brownish flight feathers and a darker mask, contrasting with the pale throat. Male similar to male Shining Flycatcher, but Biak is found in forest rather than waterside thickets and is smaller and less glossy. Often found in pairs and female has gray rather than rufous upperparts. Voice, a simple up-and-down whistled song and raspy call.

A small, slender-billed, warbler-like waxbill with pinkish-brown legs and different-looking sexes: the male has a red forehead, dull brown upperparts, and a rusty-chestnut face and underparts, while the female has a tawny-brown face and cheeks, pale buff underparts with scattered dark chevrons, and dull brown upperparts. Pairs and small groups forage by themselves or in mixed-species flocks, in the understory and middle levels of primary, secondary, and gallery forest, often near water. Eats insects, with a fondness for ants. Call is a high-pitched, downslurred “whseet.”