A handsome little bird with a stain the color of dried blood on its throat and lores. Bright yellow overall with black-and-silver eye rings and wingbars. Like most other shrike-babblers, tends to be rather slow and not particularly acrobatic, often trailing along on the edges of mixed flocks in hilly and submontane broadleaf forests. Gleans insects from foliage with a finely-hooked silvery bill. Gives a strong, insistent, and repetitive “wiCHE, wiCHE, wiCHE, wiCHE.”
Worstbird
Worstbird(s) of Dec 2024
Other birds voted for in Dec 2024
Kaptäubchen
Tiny, long-tailed dove that is dark above and pale below. Male has a black mask and colorful bill. Female has a plain head and dark bill. In flight, the wings are bright rufous. Found in a variety of dry, open habitats at low and middle elevations. Voice is a long, two-parted “hoo-oooooo” which is repeated, sometimes endlessly. Distinguished from all other doves in its range by its small size and long-tailed shape.
Rotkehl-Buschwachtel
A beautiful little gamebird of foothill and highland forests with extensive ground-level cover, where it moves about in medium-sized convoys through the dense undergrowth. Usually quiet, though sings melodically and loudly at dusk and dawn. Brightly-colored, even for a partridge; both sexes have a bright orange throat, a bluish-gray chest, and orange-and-white spotting on the sides.
Luzonseidensänger
A small drab bird of dense undergrowth within open montane forest in northern Luzon. Warm brown on the upperparts and crown with a dark eye-stripe and pale brown underparts blending to a pale gray chest and whitish throat. Similar to Long-tailed Bush-Warbler, but tail shorter and underparts grayish rather than deep brown. Also similar to Benguet Bush-Warbler, but has a a more distinct pale eyebrow. Song consists of a drawn-out low whistle followed by an explosive whistled phrase. Call is a sharp “tsik!”
Rostbauch-Ameisenschlüpfer
Tiny resident of tall rainforest. Wary and can be difficult to see well; note distinctive sputtering alarm call, tiny size, plain face, and large white (male) or buffy (female) wing spots. Generally found in pairs near treefall gaps and other places with dense understory; does not follow mixed-species flocks. Forages in low vegetation, rarely venturing more than a meter or two above the ground. Song of male is somewhat similar to Common Scale-backed Antbird, but has thinner quality and does not rise in pitch.