Wallace's Hawk-Eagle
Nisaetus nanus
Typical small hawk-eagle. Small upright crest visible when perched. Adult has dark brown wings and a paler face. In flight, look for densely black-barred underparts, two white bands across the tail, and light brown on the inner part of the underwing (compared with the completely black-and-white underwings of Blyth’s Hawk-Eagle). Visibly smaller than both Blyth’s and Mountain hawk-eagles. Juvenile Wallace’s is pale tawny-brown on the head and on the underparts; the similar Blyth’s Hawk-Eagle has tail barring. Jerdon’s Baza can appear similar, but it has horizontal banding across the breast, whereas juvenile Wallace’s has unmarked underparts, pantaloons (fully feathered legs), and a broader black tip to the tail. Wallace’s Hawk-Eagle is often seen in flight over or perched on a snag in lowland forests and forest edges.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Nisaetus nanus
- Authority
- (Wallace, 1868)
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Nisaetus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Rufous Treepie
Dendrocitta vagabunda
A long- and stiff-tailed bird with primarily rusty-brown upperparts and dull orangish underparts. The head, mantle, and neck region are a dull, sooty black. The long graduated tail is pale gray with a wide black terminal band. Note the conspicuous silvery-gray, white, and black patterns on the wings. The blackish-gray bill is stout with a hooked tip. Found in a wide range of habitats from woodlands to scrubby patches, singly or in pairs feeding in the treetops. The call is a loud metallic “krowwiiii kroo.”
Plumbeous Forest-Falcon
Micrastur plumbeus
Rare raptor found in wet rainforest in northwestern Ecuador and western Colombia. Adult is gray with barred underparts and orange face and legs. It is extremely similar to the much more common Barred Forest-Falcon; tail is shorter and only shows one band, though this is often hard to see; facial skin and legs are deep orange and usually darker than the yellow to orange hue of Barred. Immature is mostly white below with only faint barring on the breast. Vocalizations are similar and in some cases almost identical to those of Barred Forest-Falcon.
Keel-billed Toucan
Ramphastos sulfuratus
Large unmistakable toucan with a huge, rainbow-colored bill. Often seen in pairs, but not usually in groups like aracaris. Flies with a few flaps followed by a swooping glide, sometimes high over the forest canopy, and looks like a ‘flying banana.’ Heard more often than seen: ‘song’ is a far-carrying, frog-like croak, repeated steadily. Despite its large size and bright colors, can be difficult to see in leafy canopy, where it moves deliberately in search of food.
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