Fan-tailed Grassbird

Plump bird with a short tail and long legs. Unmistakable within its range. Has a brownish back, spotted breast, and rusty sides. Found hopping quietly on the ground or perching in the understory of deciduous wooded caatinga (dry scrubby forest). The song is a series of 12-14 notes, starting with four notes alternating in pitch, and finishing with descending whistles e.g. “piupiu-piupiu tetju tetju tetju tetjutu.”

A tiny dark brown woodpecker. Unlike its closest relatives, it lacks a crest, and has a longer-headed profile. Look for pale wing barring and a dirty-cream stripe down the neck. Inhabits both primary and secondary forests in lowland and foothill areas, where it can often be found in the lower levels of vegetation, pecking at ant and termite nests, fallen trunks, and hanging vegetation. Often in mixed flocks and family units. Gives a rattling trill that starts off quietly and quickly becomes, and stays, loud. Also gives shorter “wick!” and “kwee” calls.

Relatively plain piculet found in dense riverine and secondary vegetation along the Amazon and its tributaries in Peru, barely making it into southernmost Colombia and westernmost Brazil. Plumage generally pale below with a brownish back. Note the dark spots in the ear coverts; the short, sharp bill; and the glossy red feathers in the male’s crown. Song is a very high-pitched series of thin whistles, dropping at the end.