Boa Nova Tapaculo

Medium-sized antbird. Males are black with a large white patch on the back and females are brown overall, paler below, with grayish sides of the head. Inhabits the understory of humid forest, including the forest edge and light gaps, and also tall adjacent second growth. Regularly attends army-ant swarms. The song is a loud descending series of “peek” notes, and the call is a rattle.

A small olive-gray honeyeater with a circular pale yellow cheek patch and a relatively fine bill. Can be confused with Lewin’s Honeyeater and Yellow-spotted Honeyeater, but note the shape of the cheek patch: crescent-shaped on Lewin’s Honeyeater and oval on Yellow-spotted Honeyeater. Adults also have a blue-gray eye while Lewin’s has a bluish eye and Yellow-spotted has a brown eye. Voice is a key ID feature—often a single short note rather than the loud repeated whistle of Yellow-spotted or the rapid staccato machine-gun call of Lewin’s. One of three easily confusable species found in far northern Queensland. Common in many wetter lowland habitats in wetter parts of northern Queensland. Formerly considered conspecific with Graceful Honeyeater, but no overlap in range.

A bizarre, large and heavy-billed white-eye that is notably distinctive among a group of birds famed for being homogeneous. Note gray plumage overall contrasting with olive head and wings. Unusually shy for a white-eye, typically found skulking low in dense growth. Only potential confusion species on Lifou is the resident subspecies of Silverye, which is smaller with a smaller bill, brighter plumage, and contrasting black in the face. Best found via its relatively low-pitched, pleasant song made up of mellow whistled notes.