Appearance:

Unmistakable in its habitat. Found by waterfalls and fast running streams. A compact and bulky bird with short wings and tail. Plumage black with brownish head (some with brown belly). Most conspicuous feature is the shiny white throat and chest. Juveniles grey instead of black, with dark barring. Constantly bobbing up and down with drooping wings when perched. White eyelid clearly visible when blinking.

Sound:

Contact call a short, metallic and explosive "zrreet", often betraying its presence perched among boulders or when flying up and down a stream. Song a mid tempo, staccato improvisation on contact call-like sounds. Not unlike a budgerigar. Both sexes sing, the female less melodic and more staccato than the male.

Song:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

Appearance:

Plumage green, grey and yellow. Note bright, yellow base of primaries and sides of tail in all ages and plumages. Deep and heavy conical bill. Tail forked and quite short. Plump build. Female more grey than male, with back diffusely streaked in brown and underparts greyish. Juveniles similar to females, with even more drab colours and heavier streaking (also on underparts). Strongly undulated flight. Often appears somewhat clumsy when trying to perch on feeders etc.

Sound:

Song composed of various sequences of linked sounds, repeated in a vibrating manner; "trrrrrrrrr", "chechechecheche". Sometimes resembles Brambling when making the wheezy "rrrrrrrrr" sound, but differs in being harsher and by "pulling" the pitch downwards (or sometimes upwards) at the end. Contact call a fairly resonant "chep-chep", resembling Redpoll, but less nasal and with a fuller tone. Also a sharp, drawn, ascending "kooeee", (perhaps not obviously recognized as a finch).

Song:

Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC