Elegant Honeyeater

A small forest-dwelling songbird endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. Distinctive yellow head and yellowish to white underparts. Tends to stay high in the canopy, favoring tall native forest. Often encountered moving in small noisy family flocks, uttering loud staccato chattering calls and trills. Male has a musical canary-like song. Female gives a distinctive buzzing call. Adults can be seen feeding far larger Long-tailed Koel chicks, as this species is a favored host of that nest parasite. Easily distinguished from similarly-colored Yellowhammer by very different habitat use: Yellowhammer favors open farmland and scrub rather than mature forest.

A dark forest-dwelling ibis. Note the black bare skin on the face, the ragged crest, and the bright green shoulders. Found in wet areas of the rainforest understory and locally in mangroves. Very shy and generally scarce. Similar in appearance to Spot-breasted Ibis, but larger and chunkier, with unspotted underparts, black facial skin, and a different call. Somewhat like Hadada Ibis, but slightly smaller overall, smaller-billed, and found in forest rather than in more open habitats. The vocalization is a two-part, honking “hee-haa,” similar to Hadada Ibis calls, but simpler. 

Beer-bellied tree-climber with intricately patterned brown upperparts, white underparts, and a decurved bill. Combination of rusty rump, unstriped brown tail, and clean underparts distinguish this species from other similar treecreepers in its range. All but identical to Eurasian Treecreeper, but no range overlap; confined to the Himalayas and Central China. Favors conifers but can also be found in mixed and broadleaf forests. Song begins with a few high thin notes and devolves into a buzzy twitter.