Stripe-breasted Seedeater

Smallish scops-owl with bright yellow eyes. Comes in grayish-brown and bright rufous morphs. Generally weakly marked, without any prominent features: note weak black border to the facial disc, thinly streaked underparts, and short ear tufts (often held flat). Song is a 3- to 4-note series of hollow-sounding notes, with the last two in rapid succession. Inhabits forests, gardens, and parks from lowlands up into foothills; often close to human habitation in parts of its range.

An unmistakable, spectacular large forest kingfisher with a big orange bill, a moss-green back, burnt-orange underparts, and a white throat. Head is bright azure-blue in north and central Sulawesi, but very dark blackish-blue in the south. Females show rufous facial markings that are absent in males. Juveniles are duller, with horn-colored bills. Found singly and in pairs in forest understory of lowlands and lower hills. Vocal around dawn, when it repeats drawn-out mournful whistles, “woooo-eEEE,” that get gradually louder. Also gives a distressed dry chatter.

Massive seabird, but relatively small and slender for an albatross. Breeds on islands in the Southern Indian ocean from Marion and Prince Edward to Amsterdam and St. Paul. Ranges mainly at subtropical latitudes in the Indian Ocean, from South Africa to Australia, rarely to New Zealand. On adult, note soft gray cheek, typically much less extensive than hood of Atlantic Yellow-nosed. Young birds mostly white-headed with limited gray around eye; some difficult or impossible to separate from Atlantic Yellow-nosed. Bill is long, thin, and black, with yellow-orange stripe along the top ridge (culmen) on adults. Also look for thicker black leading edge on underwing to help separate from White-capped Albatross at a distance. Also compare with Gray-headed and Black-browed Albatross; note underwing pattern, bill pattern, head color.