Tanimbar Starling

Colorful small bird with a cartoonish large-eyed appearance. Luminous yellow underparts, yellow-green upperparts, and dark rust-colored throat are present in both sexes, but female is slightly paler and not as strongly marked as the male. Overall can be very similar to Clicking and Trilling Shrike-Babblers, but lacks any reddish coloration on the forehead, has a more extensive silvery brow and nape, and is darker overall. Inhabits foothill and montane forests, where it joins mixed-species foraging flocks. Song is high-pitched, rapid, and repetitive: “tweeweeweeweeweeweewee.”

Small heron, usually found in reed beds, expansive marshes, and rice fields; can occasionally be found in parks with sheltered areas, particularly lotus ponds and shaded pools. Generally uncommon throughout its range; never in the high densities of Yellow Bittern. Male is smartly attired, with a black cap, brown back, and a white neck and breast with a dark line extending down from the throat. Female is darker, with fine white spotting on the back and pale brown streaks on the throat. Compare with Cinnamon Bittern. Males give a gruff “roof, roof, roof” on the breeding grounds.

Small, charismatic species with a long spiky tail and a short crest. Has generally pale gray-brown plumage with a streaked throat and crest. Occurs in woodland, scrub, and gallery forests. Forages acrobatically from the understory up to the canopy. The song starts with sharp notes and ends with a very thin trill: “tsi, tsirrrrr.”