Ethiopian Boubou

A tiny warbler-like songbird with a pale eye-ring, endemic to Morotai. Note black head, a broad white eye-ring, a pale forehead line, a pale patch between bill and eye, a gray back, and no yellow below. Singles, pairs, or groups inhabit forest, edge, and cultivated areas in lowlands and hills. Gives a high-pitched twittering song, characteristic of white-eyes.

Small, olive-green tinkerbird. There are yellow patches on the wing and rump and a white slash on the face. Found in and around montane forest at middle and high elevations. Most often detected by voice: a chirpy series of “tek” notes, which varies from a fairly slow series of 3-4 notes to a long series of very fast notes. Very similar to Green Tinkerbird, but only overlaps slightly in range, and separated by the white facial mark.

An entertaining heron to watch—known for sprinting, jumping, and spinning around in shallow water with its wings held up. Dark morph is more common than white morph. Adults are dark gray with a rusty head and neck. Immatures are paler grayish and rusty overall. In breeding plumage, the pink bill and blue lores can become shockingly bright. White morphs are similar to other egrets, but note behavior, grayish legs, and pink bill base (adults). Found exclusively near the coast, especially on mudflats. Typically uncommon, usually seen singly or in scattered small numbers. Dark morph most easily confused with Little Blue Heron, but Reddish Egret is larger and forages much more actively.