Rufous-fronted Prinia

Shy antshrike found in understory of lowland and foothill rainforest. Male is dark gray or black; he also has small white dots on the shoulder and a white line at the bend of the wing, but these features are not always evident in the field. Female is plain brown; on the western edge of the range, she also has a black face, throat, and tail. Usually first detected by voice: song is a soft series of evenly spaced, nasal caws.

Extremely shy, smallish, long-tailed brown songbird, found locally throughout New Caledonia. When seen, note warm brown upperparts and flanks contrasting strongly with a white eyebrow, throat, and belly. Prefers scrubby habitats, and most common where there’s a mix of short bushes, dense ferns, and some grass. Best found through its distinctive call note, a dry doubled “ch-tk!”.

Twisting and turning on long, angular wings, this relative of the sandpipers and plovers gives a swallowlike impression in flight. Adults are brown overall with an elegant black necklace and pale yellow throat. When in flight, note dark flight feathers, chestnut underwing coverts, bright white trailing edge to the wings, and a flashing white rump. Juveniles are a mottled gray-brown above and lack the adult's necklace. Flight call a harsh “tarrack.”