Golden-naped Tanager

Rare. Very large, short-tailed eagle of highland and foothill forest. Like many hawks, soars mainly in late morning and is very rarely seen perched. Many reports of Solitary Eagle refer to misidentified Common Black Hawk, which also has blackish plumage and a single white tail band on its short tail. The eagle is much larger, with thicker legs, and feet that almost reach the tail tip in flight. Adult Solitary is slaty gray (vs. blackish on Black Hawks). Immature has diffusely patterned brownish tail and dark thighs, unlike black hawks.

Medium-sized, beautifully-patterned francolin. Shows rufous patches in the wings in flight. Found on the ground in areas with thick grass, ranging from pure grassland to lush woodland. Mostly at low and moderate elevations, but sometimes found in high mountain grassland. Call is a rhythmic up-and-down repeated “chil-it, chil-chow”. Generally scarce, shy, and retiring. Range does not overlap extensively with similar francolins. Combination of complex facial pattern and belly heavily barred black-and-white are always diagnostic. Much more cleanly and boldly marked than the more washed-out and buffy Whyte’s Francolin.

A chunky bird with a thick dark bill. Quite plain: gray-brown on the upperparts and buffy below, with indistinct breast streaking. The breast pattern varies geographically: gray in some areas, contrasting with the buffy belly, and buff in some areas, the same color as the belly. Found at low and middle elevations in humid forest, including secondary forest. Rich, melodious, variable song consists of several penetrating whistles, generally in an up-and-down pattern. Somewhat similar to Rusty Pitohui, but smaller, with a dark rather than pale eye. Similar in size and shape to Sooty Shrikethrush, but never as uniformly blackish. Also similar to Gray Shrikethrush, but smaller, shorter-tailed, and browner, usually with more distinct breast streaking.