Rufous-winged Cisticola

An elusive, small songster of dense montane forest undergrowth on Flores. Male has dull blue-gray upperparts with paler gray chest and sides. Female has warm brown upperparts with more rufous on the wings, rump, and pale rufous under the tail. Both sexes have white throat and mid-belly, and a thin, white eyebrow. Female similar to Lesser Shortwing, but Flores has a gray chest. Song is a jumble of whistles and scratchy notes. Also gives a loud “tak!” call.

A red-eyed masked-weaver with a plain olive-yellow back and pink-brown legs. The breeding male has a black face mask extending to the hind-crown and almost enveloping the head, and a strong chestnut breast and flanks (mid-belly is yellowish). Female and juvenile are dull green above with wingbars, and yellowish below. Pairs and colonies are very localized residents of riverside vegetation, preferring trees to reedbeds for breeding, at Lake Tshangalele and Kiubo Falls in the southeastern DRC. The ranges of most similar masked-weavers do not overlap, but breeding male Tanganyika Masked-Weaver has a less extensive black mask; Katanga and Southern Masked-Weavers are much yellower.

A rather plain cloud forest thrush found in widely scattered locations in South America. Plumage is warm brown with a paler belly. The yellow eyering and yellow lower half of bill are also good ID clues, and it may also show a buffy or cinnamon tinge on head, wings, and/or throat. Feeds mainly on fruit and is easy to overlook when not singing. It gives a series of raspy and fluting notes that alternate between higher and lower pitches.