Papuan Parrotfinch

Shy, fowl-like bird of open forest and scrubby areas; heard far more often than seen. Best identified by habitat and voice. Red legs are diagnostic. Forages alone or in pairs on ground in scrubby forests on sandy soils, walking slowly to pick up fruit, seeds and insects; does not gather in flocks. Haunting song is a slow, rising series of 2–3 notes; it is similar to that of Undulated Tinamou but typically has fewer notes and lacks a strongly upslurred final note.

Well-camouflaged nightbird, usually encountered roosting on gravel riverbeds, open areas in grasslands, rooftops, or roadsides. Sometimes found in small loose flocks when roosting. Fairly well adapted to urban life in some parts of its range and often found in towns and city edges. Intricately patterned gray-brown with less white than other nightjars; only males have a fairly small white patch on the wing near the tip. Most often detected by its distinctive, high-pitched, burry “chree-ik” song, repeated over and over.

Adorable tiny bird that loosely resembles a minute tailless wren. Warm dark brown above with rufous overtones, and scaled below; pale-morph birds have white edgings to black “scales,” while dark-morph birds have edgings that are coffee-stain tan. Smaller Pygmy Cupwing lacks the tan spots speckling the crown and neck of Scaly-breasted. Scaly-breasted inhabits dark, damp areas in dense forest, often around boulders, streams, and ravines. Song is a jumbled series of high-pitched melodic warbles, notably more complex than the song of Pygmy Cupwing.