Golden-crowned Flycatcher

Myiodynastes chrysocephalus

Large flycatcher of Andean cloud forest, usually seen perched high in the trees. Yellow underparts, dark face, and white head stripes are rather kiskadee-like, but Golden-crowned Flycatcher can be distinguished by its white moustache stripe, lack of white throat, and faint streaking on breast. It is also mainly found at higher elevations. Vocalizations include sharp “de-wit” and “chew-di-wit” calls that are repeated every few seconds. Due to a taxonomical revision, this species only includes birds found south of the Marañón River in Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. Birds north of there are now included with Golden-bellied Flycatcher.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Myiodynastes chrysocephalus
Authority
(Tschudi, 1844)
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Tyrannidae
Genus
Myiodynastes

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
rising

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Grasshopper Buzzard

Grasshopper Buzzard

Butastur rufipennis

A small, slim, fairly long-tailed buzzard. Gray and brown on the upperparts and rufous on the underparts. The white throat has a black line down the center. In flight, reveals distinctive rufous patches on the tops of the wings, with mostly white underwings. Found in a variety of savanna and grassland habitats. A migratory species that is often found in flocks, especially near fires. Best told from other buzzards by its structure, and in flight by its rufous wing panels. The call is a series of “ki” notes.

Lewis's Woodpecker

Lewis's Woodpecker

Melanerpes lewis

A large, social woodpecker with a unique color pattern. Dark glossy-green above with a gray collar, dark red face, and pink wash on the belly. Sexes alike; juveniles are duller and browner than adults. Looks all dark at a distance, with a crowlike flight style. Found in open woodlands, sometimes close to human settlements. Often uses telephone poles to stash acorns; also sallies out from a conspicuous perch to catch insects.

Cape Shoveler

Cape Shoveler

Spatula smithii

A large, elongated, speckled, brown duck with a distinctive and extended spatula-shaped black bill. In flight the sky-blue forewing is distinctive; no other regularly occurring duck species shares this feature. Male has a gray head, yellow eye, and yellow-orange feet; female has a rusty-brown head, dark eye, and gray-yellow feet. Within its range, the Northern Shoveler is an extremely rare vagrant, and it differs from Cape Shoveller by the following features: male in breeding plumage has a green head and chestnut belly; female and juvenile are in general paler and more warmly colored, but some individuals may be inseparable from female Cape Shoveller.

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