Mid-mountain Berrypecker

While perched, appears to be an unassuming nightjar: rather small, short-tailed, and largely gray with dark brown spots. In flight, males are spectacular, with unique flight feathers forming the “sickle” wing shape. Females lack these modified wing feathers. Usually found close to water, around gallery forest; in some areas also in grassland and marshes. The call is a repetition of very subtle “chip” notes.

A bulky, iridescent bird clad in deep purple, blue, green, and olive washed with pink. It clambers acrobatically through riverine woodland and savanna thickets. In flight it explodes from the canopy with distinctive deep red panels in the wings. It produces a distinctive croaking “khoh-khoh-khoh-khoh….” that gets progressively louder before suddenly stopping. The similar Ross’s Turaco differs from Purple-crested Turaco by being darker overall and having a red crest and yellow face.

Typical-looking white-eye, with bright yellowish upperparts and bright white “spectacles.” Recently split from Oriental White-eye, to which it may still be referred to as in older literature. Throughout most of its range, this species has a yellow belly, but birds in the far western corner of Java have gray bellies. The only “classic white-eye” throughout much of its range; in areas of overlap with other species, Sangkar’s combination of dark eyes and a prominent dark stripe between the eye and bill base serve to identify it. Found in lowland and foothill forests, forest edges, gardens, and plantations. Calls include bright, descending “deee, deee.” Song is jumbled and high-pitched, and has made this species a sought-after target in the cagebird trade; as such, it is now uncommon or rare in certain areas of otherwise suitable habitat.