← Feed

Posts

• View post

  Coroneted Fruit-Dove A small fruit-dove of drier lowland forest. Pale pink or whitish forehead with a yellow stripe behind going over the top of the head, from eye to eye. Green breast and yellow-orange belly separated by a pink patch. Feeds on fruit at all levels in the trees. No other small fruit doves have the combination of pale forehead with green chest. Call, a series of long “wooo” notes, first rising then falling. Link: https://ebird.org/species/cofdov1?continue Photo Location: Papua N...

• View post

  Western Bluebird Adult males have dark blue head, back, and wings. Breast and sides are deep orange with orange sometimes bleeding onto back. Females are grayer overall with orange on breast, blue usually restricted to wings and tail. Favors fields with some trees and open woods. Often in small groups. Frequently perches on wires or fence posts. Nests in cavities. Range barely overlaps Eastern Bluebird, but note orange on back of males and grayer belly and sides of neck on female. Link: https:...

• View post

  Shining Honeycreeper Small, warblerlike tanager of foothills and adjacent lowlands. Found in humid evergreen forest and edge. Feeds at all levels, mostly in the canopy of fruiting and flowering trees and bushes. All plumages have more strongly decurved bill and shorter tail than the more common Red-legged Honeycreeper. Also note distinctive yellow legs. Male is deep blue overall with black throat and wings. Female has a necklace of bluish streaks across chest. Link: https://ebird.org/species/s...

• View post

  Greater Yellow-Finch Fairly common in the Andes of central Chile and adjacent Argentina; seen readily at ski resorts, around villages, on bogs, and on stony and grassy slopes. Often in flocks, associates readily with other seed-eating birds. Feeds mainly on the ground, but sings from prominent perches such as a rock or building. Not appreciably larger than other yellow-finches, but no similar species in most of range. May overlap in winter locally with Greenish Yellow-Finch, which has shorter w...

• View post

  Stout-billed Cinclodes Bold, terrestrial bird of high Andean grasslands and pastures. Mostly brown with white throat, white eyebrows, and chestnut patches in the wings. Larger overall with a longer, thicker, and more curved bill than the otherwise similar Chestnut-winged Cinclodes. Feeds on the ground, darting back and forth while chasing prey; often rests on posts, rocks, tussocks, and other exposed perches. Song is a quick, rising trill. Link: https://ebird.org/species/stbcin1 Photo Location...

• View post

  Gray-backed Sparrow-Lark A small, compact finch-like sociable lark that is both resident and nomadic, although movements are poorly understood. The sexes differ in plumage: the male has a gray-brown back and wings with a scalloped pattern, and a black head with bold white ear patches that reach the back of the neck; the streaky female is variable depending on geographic range, but always has a dark belly patch and tends to be paler than other female sparrow-larks. Flocks of 20 to 100 birds (oft...

• View post

  Sao Tome White-eye A small, active, mostly dull olive-green and gray warbler-like bird with a yellowish throat and a white eye-ring that is obvious with a good view. Endemic to São Tomé, where small groups regularly join mixed-species flocks. A fairly common resident in the canopy and middle levels of primary and secondary forest and tall trees in woodland, most common between 400 and 1600 meters of elevation. Calls include a dry, reedy trilling with some musical notes interspersed. Sao Tome Wh...

• View post

  Atlas Wheatear Small thrush-like bird with distinctive black-and-white tail pattern that is striking in flight. Breeding male has a black face, throat and wing, gray back and crown, and white underparts. Breeding female is duller, with a brownish crown and back, and usually a speckled blackish face and throat. Nonbreeding and immature birds are duller overall, though males retain their distinctive black throat. Breeds in the Atlas Mountains of northwest Africa, in areas of bare rock and short g...

• View post

  Shy Heathwren Small bird of open mallee and heathland in southwestern Australia and southern South Australia. Medium gray-brown above, whitish below, with distinct pale supercilium, red-brown rump, large white spot in the primaries (surrounded by black), dark chest streaking, and long, cocked tail. Forages quietly on the ground. Compare Chestnut-rumped Heathwren, which has a smaller pale wing spot, no black in wing, and paler legs. Despite the name, this species is not particularly shy. Link:...

• View post

  Ultramarine Grosbeak Stunning dark blue bird with a huge bill. Male is mostly deep cobalt with paler highlights on the shoulder and eyebrow and a darker patch around the eye. Female is rich reddish-brown overall. Found singly or in pairs in scrubby wooded habitats, often near water. Can be skulky, preferring to forage in dense thickets. Occurs mostly in southeastern South America, with disjunct populations in Venezuela and Colombia. Compare with Blue-black Grosbeak, which doesn’t overlap much i...

• View post

  Chin Hills Wren-Babbler Tiny brown bird with a proportionally long tail and a white breast. The white breast is flecked with dark spots, while the brown upperparts appear scaled. Lacks the rusty tones found in other similar wren-babblers in the region. Occupies the understory of evergreen forests and adjacent scrub, where it skulks and is difficult to see. The song is a short, rapid warble of 5-8 strong notes. Link: https://ebird.org/species/chhwrb1 Photo Location: Myanmar

• View post

  Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Handsome, medium-size hummingbird of humid tropical lowlands. Favors forest edge, second growth, gardens in some areas. Feeds low to high and often comes to feeders. Can be difficult to distinguish from Buff-bellied Hummingbird, which favors drier habitats. Rufous-tailed has a dingier, grayish belly and more extensive rusty on the tail, which lacks the distinct fork often shown by Buff-bellied’s tail. Also compare Cinnamon Hummingbird. Link: https://ebird.org/species/...

• View post

  Malayan Crested Fireback Flamboyant dark pheasant of tropical lowland rainforest, typically in wetter areas. Male is glossy blue-black with a tufted crest, electric blue facial skin, blood-red back and white tail. Female is warm chocolate brown with pale-edged feathers on the underparts. Forages singly or in small groups on the forest floor. Shy but has become habituated in some places. Larger than Malayan Crestless Fireback and Salvadori’s Pheasant with blue rather than red facial skin and red...

• View post

  White-breasted Tapaculo Small tapaculo, found close to the ground in the dense understory of humid lowland and submontane forests, where it is usually very hard to see. It is plump with a short tail that is usually held cocked. It has a gray head and back with a white breast and a brown streaky vent and rump. The song, a froglike trill, is easily overlooked. Link: https://ebird.org/species/whbtap1 Photo Location: Brazil

• View post

  Choco Toucan Large black and yellow toucan with a yellow stripe on the top of the bill. Inhabits lowland and foothill rainforest west of the Andes. Similar to chestnut-mandibled races of Yellow-throated Toucan, but with black on the lower part of the bill. This can be hard to distinguish in poor light, so voice is often the best way to ID: it makes a rasping or croaking call instead of a yelp. Link: https://ebird.org/species/chotou1 Photo Location: Ecuador

• View post

  Garganey Small and often rather unobtrusive duck of wetlands with reedy and other fringing vegetation. Handsome male distinctive, with big white eyebrow on dark brown head, pale gray flanks; pale gray forewing striking in flight. Female very similar to female Green-winged Teal but head pattern more contrasting, with paler eyebrow, darker eyestripe, and unstreaked whitish throat. Breeds widely across Eurasia; winters in Africa and southern Asia. Migrants can be on more open water, even tidal mud...

• View post

  Finsch's Euphonia Small finch of forest canopy; often seen perched on bare branches. Males have yellow forecrown and belly contrasting with dark throat; females mostly dull yellow and green. Usually in pairs or small groups; may sit motionless for long periods before flying off into the distance. Found in a variety of forest types including coastal and savanna forest; usually in the canopy and at fruiting trees. Frequently heard call a plaintive, doubled whistle. Male is very similar to Pur...

• View post

  Galapagos Hawk Brown hawk endemic to Galápagos. Adult is quite dark and may appear nearly black in harsh light; also note white barring in wings and tail, and yellow at base of bill. Juvenile is washed with tawny with darker brown spots on underparts. Rests on exposed perches such as treetops and boulders. Hunts on the wing and sometimes hovers in place while searching for prey. Link: https://ebird.org/species/galhaw1 Photo Location: Ecuador

• View post

  Berlepsch's Tinamou A very dark, chicken-like bird found in lowland rainforest in northwestern Ecuador and western Colombia. Plumage is dark gray, but can appear almost black in the shady rainforest understory. Legs, eye, and base of bill are reddish. No other tinamou in range has uniformly dark plumage. Shy and hard to see as it walks quietly on the ground inside the rainforest. Heard far more often than seen; its song is a short, high-pitched, descending whistle repeated every 10-15 secon...

• View post

  Red-backed Buttonquail Tiny secretive button-quail. Typically inhabits dense wet-grassland habitats. This species is very secretive, and most commonly observed exploding from cover and flying rapidly away - look for pale patches on the wings contrasting with a darker back and wing tips. Has a reddish-brown collar, yellow bill and clear black spots extending down from below the eye to the wing. Call is a soft repeated ‘oom-oom-oom-oom’ with the end of each note ascending in pitch. Link: https:/...

• View post

  Maghreb Magpie The magpie of North Africa; very similar to Eurasian Magpie and closely related. Slightly shorter-winged and longer-tailed than Eurasian Magpie with blue bare skin around the eye. Also lacks gloss on the tail. Found in various wooded habitats including urban and suburban gardens, woodlands, cultivated areas, and forests. Call is a rapid chatter and is slightly higher-pitched than that of Eurasian Magpie. Link: https://ebird.org/species/eurmag3 Photo Location: Morocco

• View post

  Lined Forest-Falcon Fierce-looking raptor of lowland rainforest interior east of the Andes; also ranges up into the foothills in a few areas. Gray with dense barring from throat to breast and an orange face (yellow in younger birds). Similar to Barred Forest-Falcon but usually has a darker orange face and little or no barring on lower underparts. Stays inside forest and is heard far more often than seen. Call is two or three nasal honks, repeated every few seconds. Link: https://ebird.org/spec...

• View post

  Freckled Duck Very finely-speckled dark-grayish duck with a dark eye and an obvious peaked crown. Beak is strongly curved like a ski-jump. Breeding males have a red base to their bill. Upper-wing is dark, while under-wing is paler gray. When perched, distinguish from Hardhead (which have a pale belly patch). Generally uncommon; found beside inland waterholes and ponds. More reliable inland, but can be common one year and absent the next from any given location. Link: https://ebird.org/species/...

• View post

  Black-fronted Tern A medium to small blue-gray tern endemic to New Zealand. Breeding birds have a black cap extending down to the bill and bright orange bill and legs. Non-breeding plumage dulls to a mottled gray cap and black patch around the eye, also seen in juveniles. Breeds only along the braided rivers of the eastern South Island. Will defend nest from intruders by diving, calling harshly, and hitting intruders on the head. After breeding, populations disperse to coastal areas, foraging o...

• View post

  Tomtit Small forest bird with distinct large head and short tail, endemic to New Zealand. The five subspecies are restricted to North, South, Snares, Auckland, and Chatham Islands, respectively. Plumage is variable depending on sex and location. Males are generally black and white, females brown and white. Both sexes have a white spot at the base of the bill, which is raised as a threat display. Favors mature native forests, but also uses scrub and exotic forest stands. Feeds in understory of f...

• View post

  Green-backed Sparrow Retiring, rather bland sparrow of humid tropical lowlands. Favors forest understory and adjacent thickets and tangles. Very similar to Olive Sparrow, which occurs in the same areas but prefers brushy fields rather than forest understory. Green-backed has brighter greenish upperparts and a cleaner gray head with well-defined black stripes, but best told by song. Songs of both species are variable, but Green-backed song typically rather even-paced, unlike accelerating notes o...

• View post

  Small-billed Elaenia A fairly small and very dull-looking flycatcher. Grayish brown above and whitish below with a thin white eyering, three pale wingbars, and pinkish base to the bill. Note the round head with only a very slight crested appearance. Found in woodlands and edges up to around 1,200 m. Breeds from southern Brazil to central Argentina, migrating north in the austral winter to far northern South America. Extremely similar to White-crested Elaenia, which tends to show a less obvious...

• View post

  Neblina Tapaculo Small tapaculo found only at very high elevations in the eastern Andes of Peru. Male is gray with black and brown barring on lower underparts and rump. Female is browner with more extensive barring. Similar to several other tapaculos, and best identified by range, habitat, and voice. Inhabits scrubby treeline woodland and adjacent grasslands. Song is a long, leisurely series of chips. Link: https://ebird.org/species/nebtap1 Photo Location: Peru

• View post

  Trilling Cisticola Fairly large, plain cisticola. Note the rufous cap, pale underparts, and two bands across the tip of the tail, one pale and one black. Found in a variety of savanna habitats, including miombo. The distinctive song is a high, rising trill, given from a prominent perch. The call is an agitated, repeated “chit.” As with other cisticolas, habitat and vocalizations are important to identification. Fairly similar to Whistling Cisticola, but has a rufous cap. Link: https://ebird.or...

• View post

  White-eared Monarch Small songbird with long tail, slim bill. Mostly black above and pale gray below, with white wing panels, and multiple white patches on face. Worn birds show flecks of black in white patches. At close range, note prominent bristles around the bill. Actively forages in the outer canopy of mid-story shrubs and small trees in wetter forests of eastern Australia coast. Song a four-note whistle; also a plaintive descending 2-note “meet-choooo. Link: https://ebird.org/species/whe...