Sparkling Violetear

A large-bodied, small-headed, black gamebird perfectly lined with rows of hundreds of bluish-white spots. It has a ridiculous-looking plumed “toupee” above the naked face, which features an ivory-colored bill and a blood-red eye. The facial skin color varies geographically, and can be mostly blue-gray with small patches of red and white, or predominantly blue-gray with a large white patch on the back of the neck. A broad band around the base of the neck is unspotted black. It prefers forest and thickets, where it forages on the ground for berries, seeds, and other plant matter. The similar Helmeted Guineafowl differs by its lack of feathered crest and its having a bone-like casque on top of the head instead. The alarm call is a series of rattling, agitated notes that speed up and slow down; similar to the call of Helmeted Guineafowl, but with a tinnier quality.

A unusual dark greenbul often found near water in the forest interior. Decorated in various shades of dark and olive green, with a gray throat that contrasts with the breast, a buffy belly, and bright white sides of the tail. Can be confused with both Honeyguide Greenbul and actual honeyguides, but the flight is direct rather than undulating, the throat contrasts with the breast, the eyes are always dark, and the vocalizations are distinctive. Can be located by its “REHR!” calls, often followed by a series of fast, scratchy notes and sometimes repeated for minutes on end.

An unmistakable, strikingly patterned songbird with a downcurved bill. Olive above, with a conspicuous white throat bordered below by a necklace of dark streaks. Rest of underparts lemon-yellow. Inhabits forest, forest edge, gardens, and scrub, where typically encountered in small groups. Confined to the island of Wetar, where no similar birds occur. Song is a short, buzzing, two-note “tzer-tzer.”