Red-throated Parrotfinch

Medium-sized bright green parakeet mainly restricted to Mangere and Little Mangere Islands on the Chatham Islands of New Zealand. Note distinctive yellow crown above a red forehead. Due to hybridization with Red-crowned Parakeet, some birds have red extending to and beyond the eye and a crown that varies from yellow-orange to orange-red. Males are larger than females. Will feed out in the open on flowering flax as well as in forest habitats. Commonly seen on the ground, scratching the surface like a chicken. Chatters quietly while feeding and often calls in flight. Forms small flocks in autumn and winter. Red-crowned Parakeet is present in the same habitat but lacks yellow on crown and has an obvious red band extending to, and beyond, the eye.

A thick-billed, sparrow-sized songbird. Male has a black hood, a white throat, pale gray upperparts, and a white underside. Female is rufous-brown above and whitish underneath, with dark chest streaking. Juvenile resembles a pale-billed female. Found in varied wooded habitats and forest, where pairs or single birds frequent the understory and subcanopy. Male distinguished from male Golden and Yellow-throated Whistlers by gray back and white underside. Female separated from female Golden and Yellow-throated Whistlers and from Fawn-breasted Whistler by streaked breast and strongly rufous-toned upperparts. Song is a series of strident whistles, including “choo” and “chwee” notes, sometimes in a jumbled series.

A long-tailed, slender songbird with fine bill. Male entirely glossy blue-black. Female a rich chestnut above, white below, with black crown and face (in poor light, may appear dark above; compare Restless and Paperbark flycatchers). Inhabits mangroves and wetlands, actively pursuing insects on the ground and in low vegetation. Song a clear whistled “towhit-too-towhit.”