UKARUMPA, PNG — Yesterday, I found a Long-tailed Shrike who was relatively willing to be photographed and a small flock of Hooded Munias who were not.

Several subspecies of the Long-tailed Shrike breed from Central Asia all the way to New Guinea. I think the New Guinea race (Lanius schach stresmanni) must surely be the most handsome.

The extensively black head, gray nape patch, and rufous back combine to set stresmanni apart from several other forms.

A brisk, incessant call (one that has puzzled me for some time) lured me into a patch of kunai grass along the road. The grass was over my head in places, but I pushed my way through, following the call.

I tried to bring the bird up with a variety of spishing calls, but it remained totally unresponsive. A grass blade quivered here; something rustled there. I saw a flash of wings once but could not focus through the layers of grass. Then a face peered out between the blades, but only for an instant.

Sometimes I tried to follow the call; sometimes I stood still, following the bird’s movements by sound, not by sight. The bird apparently moved at mid-level through the rank grass, never hitching up a stalk to examine its surroundings, never breaking cover in response to my noisy advances.

After a long wait, I saw movement and managed to get binoculars focused on a small brown head, slightly capped — and then it was gone again.

Moving back in the direction it had gone, I heard someone crashing through the grass and turned to see three Papua New Guinean lads. They seemed to know exactly what I was doing and asked if I wanted to catch the bird.

No, I said, just to see it. They replied that it might come up if we waited, and they stood silently behind me until the bird stopped calling. Then they offered to catch a variety of birds and bring them to me. I didn’t think I could explain why this was the last thing I wanted, so I simply said that I would be going away to Moresby soon, which is true.

As for the identity of the skulker, I suspect Tawny Grassbird, but the final verdict will have to await further evidence.

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