White-crowned Cuckoo

Very small rufous owl with white spots flecked on rich brown head, a white belly streaked with rufous and white spots on the back. Similar to Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, which has a streaked rather than spotted head and a longer tail. Found in the canopy of humid forest and forest edges. The song is a series of two-three high-pitched whistles.

Shy and surprisingly difficult to find in mixed and conifer woodland, where it runs quickly from detected disturbance. Red-and-gold male stunning and unmistakable. Female differs from Common Pheasant in strongly barred plumage, dull pinkish (not gray) legs and feet and from Lady Amherst’s Pheasant in lighter barring, more orangeish coloration, and the lack of a bare patch of gray skin behind the eye. Native to China but introduced very locally in Britain and Hawaii; however, captive birds might escape anywhere.

Endemic resident of shady subtropical broadleaf forest understorey on the main island of Okinawa. Forages on the ground and often seen at the forest edge. Rufous-orange upperparts with grayish-white belly. Male has a black face and chest. Similar to the migratory Ryukyu Robin but male lacks the blackish flank patches and black forehead of that species. Female lacks black spotting on the chest of female Ryukyu Robin. Song is an up-and-down whistled melody. Call is a dry rattle, accompanied by wing and tail flicks.