Greater Flameback

The greater flameback is a woodpecker that is also known as the greater goldenback and large golden-backed woodpecker. Wikipedia notes it has "an erect crest and a long neck." It has "unmarked golden-yellow to dark brown back and wings", the "rump is red and the tail is black", the "underparts are white with dark markings (chevrons, stripes, or bands), or light brown. The head is whitish with a black pattern [female], or it is yellow, brown, or red [male]. 

Greater flameback male illustration from Birds of the World. 

The straight-pointed bill is longer than the head, and the legs have four-toed zygodactyl feet (two toes pointing forward, two backward) and are lead-gray in color. The eyes' irises are whitish to yellow." The adult male has a "red crown" and females crown color varies between subspecies, "such as black spotted with white, yellow, or brown with lighter dots. Young birds are like the females, but duller, with brown irises." 

We saw several greater flamebacks across the street from Diphlu Lodge. It is an extremely fun looking bird. I wish I could have gotten a closer photo to present the spectacular details. 

The red rump is seen in flight. 

This and the next photo show how they got their name.

Birds of the World notes that it is found in the Himalayan foothills in northwestern India and western Nepal, the northern Eastern Ghats in eastern India, east through southwestern China, Thailand, and Mainland Southeast Asia, south through peninsular Malaysia to Sumatra and western Java and northeastern Borneo. I saw them in Assam, India in northeastern India near Kaziranga NP. 

Range of greater flameback from Birds of the World.

Scarlet Minivet

The scarlet minivet male has black upperparts and head and scarlet underparts, tail edges, rump and wing patches. The female is gray above with yellow underparts, including the face, tail edges, rump and wing patches. There are as many as 19 subspecies with great geographic variation. In males the scarlet can be a variation, including orange and yellow. It looks like I saw either Pericrocotus speciosus fraterculus which is found in northeast India and extending into Myanmar, Yunnan and Hainan, or P. s. speciosus, which is found along the Himalayas. 

An illustration of a male from Birds of the World. 

A male I saw near Diphlu Lodge near Kaziranga NP in Assam, India. 

An illustration of a female from Birds of the World. 

A female I saw on the main road while driving to the far wester Burapahar Range of Kazirange NP. 

Common Iora

I saw one common iora near Kaziranga NP in Assam, India near the Diphlu Lodge where we were staying. It is very small and flits about constantly. My guide took the photos as I was having a hard time following its movement. 

Males and females are dimorphic. The undersides of both are yellow. Females have greenish wings and an olive tail. Males have black wings and tail and in breeding season have a black cap and back. I believe I saw a female, but my photos only capture the lowerparts. 

It is found in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. There are eleven subspecies. 

Bronze-Winged Jacana

The bronze-winged jacana is rail-like, short-tailed and appears dark at a distance except for the supercilium. The wings are bronzy brown with a green sheen. The head, neck and breast are black and contrast with the white supercilium that runs from over the eye to the back of the neck. The lower back and tail coverts are chestnut. The tail is stubby and reddish brown with a black terminal band. The greenish yellow bill has a red base on the upper mandible. A frontal shield extends up over the forehead and is reddish purple. The legs are greenish. The toes are long and the straight and and elongated nail on the hind toe is longer than the toe. 

This is the best look at the frontal shield, but it does not show-up well. 

This is the best view of the red base on the upper mandible.

It is distributed across the Indian Subcontinent, but not found in Sri Lanka or western Pakistan, and Southeast Asia, mostly in low elevations. 

Range of the bronze-winged jacana from Wikipedia.

It forages on lilies and other floating aquatic vegetation using its long feet and legs for balance. Sexes are alike, but females are slightly larger and are polyandrous, maintaining a harem of males during breeding season in the monsoon rains.  

I saw one bronze-winged Jacana in the Eastern Range of Kaziranga NP in Assam, India. The information in this post is all from Wikipedia and much of it is word-for-word, although I have not made the effort to put in quotation marks.  

Galapagos Yellow Warbler

The yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia) is a New World warbler species found in North America, the Caribbean and northern South America with 35 (to 37) subspecies (sometimes some are treated as separate species), depending on the source. All subspecies are very similar, the difference being the males' head color in breeding season. Males in winter, females and immature birds have a greenish-yellow upperside and a duller yellow underside. Young males obtain breast and head coloration. Females are more dull, particularly on the head. The wing and tail feathers are blackish olive with yellow edges. The eyes and short thin beak are dark. The feet are lighter or darker olive-buff. The subspecies can be divided into three (or four) main groups according to the males' head color in breeding season. 

 

One main group is the golden warbler (the petechia group). It has (15, 16 or) 17 subspecies and is found in the mangrove swamps of the West Indies. The adult male has a chestnut crown patch and it is the extent of the patch that varies among the subspecies. The crown patch can be orange to dark chestnut and may be restricted or absent in some individuals. The chestnut in the crown my be indistinct in northern populations and becomes darker to the south. The color of the upperparts and the pattern of chestnut streaking on underparts varies geographically. The chestnut streaking of underparts is more prominent in the western Caribbean. It is non-migratory. 

An illustration of one subspecies of the golden yellow warbler from Birds of the World.

Another main group, the mangrove warbler (The erithachorides group) has (11 or) 12 subspecies and is found in the mangrove swamps of coastal Middle America and northern South America. The adult male usually has an entirely chestnut head (or hood). Subspecies vary in the extent and hue of the hood. The chestnut head ranges from dark and forming a hood in northern birds to paler (no distinct hood) in southern populations from Pacific islands and Caribbean islands off South America. Many females have a chestnut crown and cheeks and streaking on the underparts. The color of the upperparts and the pattern of chestnut streaking on the underparts  varies geographically. Chestnut streaks are narrower in males from norther populations. It is non-migratory. 

An illustration of one subspecies of mangrove yellow warbler from Birds of the World.

An illustration of another subspecies of mangrove yellow warbler from Birds of the World.

The Galapagos yellow warbler, considered a separate group (the aureola group) by some, has one subspecies, the Galapagos yellow warbler. It is the only yellow warbler I've seen so far. It is found in the Galapagos Islands and Cocos Islands. 

An illustration of the Galapagos yellow warbler from Birds of the World.

I saw the Galapagos yellow warbler when we visited the Galapagos Islands in March of 2022. It was on the far western island of Fernandina at Espinosa Point. 

Some lump the Galapagos yellow warbler with the mangrove warbler group and you can see that it does not have a full hood. It has chestnut streaking on the underparts. 

60% of their diet is caterpillars. This one is eating a caterpillar. 

The wings and tail feathers are blackish-olive with yellow edges. A greenish-yellow upperside. 

The other main group, the American yellow warbler (the aestiva group) has 6 subspecies and is yellow headed. It is migratory. They breed in temperate North America and migrate to Central and South America.

An illustration of one subspecies of American yellow warbler from Birds of the World.

An illustration of another subspecies of American yellow warbler from Birds of the World.

The information for this comes from Wikipedia, Birds of the World and iNaturalist.

Common Greenshank

The common greenshank is a wader that likes a marshy habitat. It is gray-brown in winter, which is when we saw it in Kaziranga NP in Assam, India. It is brown in its breeding plumage with black on the shoulders and back. The bill has an upturned appearance and it has long greenish legs and a long bill with a gray base. It is a little larger than the related common redshank.  

This common greenshank was found in the Central Range of Kaziranga NP. 

It breeds from northern Scotland through northern Europe and the Palearctic. It winters in Africa, the Indian Subcontinent and Australasia.  

This common greenshank was found in the Burapahar Range of Kaziranga NP. 

Wood Sandpiper

Wikipedia notes that the "wood sandpiper resembles a longer-legged, more delicate form of the...green sandpiper...[but] with a shorter, finer bill, brown back and longer yellowish legs. The wood sandpiper differs from the green by having a smaller, less contrasting white rump-patch. However, it is not closely related to the green sandpiper. Its closest relative is the common redshank. 

This wood sandpiper was found in Kaziranga NP in the Eastern Range. 

"The wood sandpiper breeds in subarctic wetlands, from the Scottish Highlands...[through] Eurasia and the Palearctic. They...migrate to Africa, South Asia (particularly India) and Australia."  

This wood sandpiper was found in the Central Range of Kaziranga NP.