Bendire's Thrasher

A large, black ground bird of lowland rainforest. Bare gray facial skin, black bill and bright yellow legs. It is very shy and forages on the forest floor for fallen fruit, invertebrates and even small lizards. Sleeps up in the trees. Co-occurs with other similar-sized black birds, but bright yellow legs are unmistakable. More often heard than seen. Call a raucous “rawk! rak-rak-rak-rak!” with a longer, lower first note and the subsequent ones repeated.

Small plump leaf warbler. A “Pallas’s-type” leaf warbler: stout, with a pale rump, crown stripe, and prominent brow stripes. Olive-yellow above with a faint gray wash on the nape. Chinese is distinguished from Pallas’s by its paler, more faded-looking brow and crown stripes, less yellow suffusion all over the body, less compact appearance, and less obvious or absent upper wingbar. Extremely similar Gansu Leaf Warbler and Lemon-rumped Warbler can be difficult to separate; note Chinese’s slightly more elongated and less rounded appearance, a lack of a distinct hook under the end of the brow stripe, less contrasting and more yellowish head patterning, and paler yellowish secondaries. Forages actively, often hovering and hopping about at mid-level. Breeds in montane broadleaved deciduous or mixed forest; moves to lower elevations in winter. On average, found at lower altitudes than Lemon-rumped and Gansu. Lengthy song is unique and bizarre, with a twanging, grating quality: “btrichi-btrichi-btrichi.” Call is an explosive “wip!”, often repeated in medium-length series on the breeding grounds.

Small finch of grassy woodlands. Mostly brown (darker above), with a gray head, black throat, black bill, and white undertail. Black tail relatively short and rounded. Masked Finch has longer, pointed tail, yellow bill, and brown head. Feeds in grasses or on the ground, sometimes in large flocks, mixed with other species. Call is a long descending whistle.