Tongan Whistler

A slender, long-legged songbird with a “crouched” profile. Adult male is unmistakable, with blue upperparts and snow-white belly separated by black running from the eye to the bend of the wing. Female warm brown with blue-tinted rump and whitish underparts. Juvenile resembles female but grayer above. Like most other robins, shy and retiring, inhabiting forested areas with dense undergrowth; on its breeding grounds, most easily detected by its song, an explosive “tsi-tsi-TEWEE-TEWEE.”

A large, black ground bird of rainforests from the lowlands to mid-mountains. Red-orange legs stand out against the all black plumage. Bare face and a bushy feathers on top of the head give it a crested appearance. Often hammers seeds with its strong bill. The red-orange legs separate it from any similar-sized birds with which it co-occurs. Much more often heard than seen. Loud raucous call, similar to Red-billed Brushturkey but the second note rises higher.

A small, neat, mostly blue-gray bird with a dark mask, tail, and wings, a bold white wing-stripe, and a rose-washed pale belly. Singles and pairs flit between thorn trees, bushes, thickets, and woody gullies in the Karoo. It forages actively for insects, sometimes joining mixed-species flocks, characteristically fanning its tail and drooping its wings. The Fairy Flycatcher is resident in the south of its range but is mostly a non-breeding winter visitor farther north. Its presence is often betrayed by a distinctive high-pitched phrase of short squeaky notes typically rendered as “tseee-tseeeit-zee-tzee-tzweeet” or similar.