MADANG PROVINCE, PNG — I’m beginning to settle in to life here, clearing up little mysteries and getting to know the birds better. Helmeted Friarbirds and Black and Olive-backed Sunbirds are among the most common and vocal residents. The Olive-backed Sunbirds have a rising, tentative call that is incredibly similar to one call of the American Goldfinch. The friarbirds remind me of Carolina Wrens in that the number of syllables and position of stresses in their calls are quite variable, though the tone is immediately recognizable.

I’ve noticed that I keep comparing everything to something I know from home, and I think it’s an unconscious mechanism for dealing with the stress of totally foreign surroundings. I keep telling myself I should appreciate these birds for what they are instead of for how they remind me of birds at home, but I think my brain needs some sort of foundation to process all of this brand new information.

Today, I finally solved the cuckoo-shrike puzzle. I’ve decided “Birds of New Guinea” is partly to blame for my confusion, because its illustration of White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike shows such a small amount of black on the face that I thought I surely must be seeing something else. But today I saw one well enough to confirm that the black did not extend to the ear patch and the breast was not barred. This ruled out immature Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike.

The most common call I’ve heard from the cuckoo-shrike is a two-syllable yelp that reminds me (here we go again) of a doubled flicker’s call. This call seems to be given most often in flight, and when the birds land, they raise and lower their wings, similar to (argh) the wing displays of Eastern Bluebirds.

The other big question answered is the identity of this small terrestrial kingfisher. Buffy underparts and unmarked wings — it’s a Sacred Kingfisher, a winter resident. That didn’t seem so difficult once it was over, but for awhile, the Forest-Collared-Sacred complex had me perplexed.

Other mysteries have popped up along the way, though. I’ve begun hearing a flock of somethings in the morning during our language classes. It seems to be about the same time each morning, just when I’m stuck inside. It sounds like they fly overhead, and the calls are screechy. Could they be some sort of parrot? I still haven’t seen any….

Also, I have begun to suspect that the call I heard my first morning here (and still hear occasionally, early in the morning) was in fact a frogmouth. I always scan dead limbs and treetops, trying to keep up hope. I can’t believe I missed the nesting birds by a day or two, and I have no idea whether I’ll see any others.

No birds-of-paradise either. I asked my language teacher, Dimad, about them, pointing to a picture on a mug. He told me that they live in the bush, which apparently means far away from here. Hmmmm.

In the evenings, I enjoy watching Black Kites and Brahminy Kites soaring in the canyon. Oh yes, that’s another mystery solved. The mottled brown raptors I saw on the sixth are indeed immature Brahminy Kites.

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