Andaman Wood-Pigeon

A uniformly dark starling with a purplish-glossy sheen to the head and chest and a greener sheen on the body. Eye red. Pale brown wing feathers distinctive and diagnostic. Prefers forest and forest edge up to 750 meters of elevation, and up to 1200 meters on Guadalcanal. Common call is a melodic, metallic “pink pink.” Song is a medley of metallic warbles, chips, squeaks, and other sounds.

A lively small inhabitant of pine woodlands, typically found fairly high in trees. Similar to Bahama Warbler and Yellow-throated Warbler at first glance, but Olive-capped Warbler has a bright yellow-olive forehead and lacks the bold white eyebrow of those species. Also distinctive is the Olive-capped's dense, dark streaking that is restricted to the sides of the lowermost chest. Its song consists of several sweet notes on one pitch followed by several at a lower pitch; sometimes ending with a single note on original pitch. Call notes include one that is high and sharp and another that is sweet and slightly squeaky.

A very slender gray-brown swift with a long, deeply forked tail that is often held closed, making it look needle-like and pointed. The erratic flight pattern, with frequent direction changes and rapid wingbeats on long, scythe-shaped wings, is distinctive. Less gregarious than other swifts; usually found in pairs or small flocks, and association with other swallows and swifts is usually only fleeting. Forages over a wide variety of habitats with palms, including savanna, coastal scrub, towns, villages, cultivated areas, forest edge, and clearings, from sea level up to 1800 meters of elevation, preferring lowlands. Nests and roosts in palms and uses its tiny legs with hook-like claws to cling to the undersides of fronds. Gives a high-pitched, metallic “tre-tit-tit-tit-tit-tit-tit-tit” call, solitarily or in unison with others. Separated from other swifts by its longer and thinner tail.