Biak Coucal

A gray-olive thrush with a white belly, buff-orange flanks, a distinctive bright orange bill and eye-ring, and a pale throat with a broad black moustache. Pairs occupy a variety of broadleaf woodland, thornveld, and open savanna, where it runs on the ground foraging for plant and animal matter. It gives a series of varied fluting notes and whistles, and is known to imitate the calls of other birds. The similar African Thrush also has a pale belly and occupies savanna, but its bill is yellow, not orange.

Medium-sized plover. Breeds in flowing rivers with shingle islands and banks; outside of breeding season, can be found in slower rocky rivers, as well as flooded fields and lakeshores. Resembles a larger version of Little Ringed Plover—similarly brown, white below, with black neck band, white collar, and white supercilium—but lacks the yellow eyering of Little and is much larger, with longer wings and tail giving Long-billed a very different shape. Sometimes difficult to spot, as it is well camouflaged among rocks and pebbles, and often first detected by its sharp alarm call, “piwee”, given when flushed. Longer bill not an especially reliable feature for field identification.

A large, long-tailed bird of montane forest with a long, curved bill. Male has black upperparts with some iridescence, brown underparts and very long tail. Female is brown above with rufous crown, barred belly and black face. Male does an astonishing display, where two articulated fans are lifted above the head and the whole body is swayed up and down. Similar to Black Sicklebill, but Brown is usually found at higher elevations and has a pale blue eye. Male has brown and female a barred chest. Voice, sounds scarily like short bursts of a machine gunfire.