Forest Honeyeater

A tiny bird of mossy montane forest and edge on Mindanao. Male has glossy black upperparts, pale underparts (whiter on the throat), and the namesake bright red crown stripe. Female has olive upperparts. Similar to Bicolored Flowerpecker, but male Flame-crowned has a bright crown patch and female has a more yellowish belly. Voice includes a high-pitched descending whistle and a sharp “tsik!”

This dark, medium-sized bird would be fairly unremarkable were it not for the exceptionally long crest sticking vertically out of its head. Sumatran and Bornean birds are brown, while birds on Java and the Malay Peninsula are black. Blocky white crescent behind the eye flashes as the bird moves through dense foliage in lowland and foothill broadleaf forests. Raucous; most commonly gives noisy rattles, also whistles and chips.

Handsome brushfinch found only in the Perijá Mountains along the Colombia-Venezuela border, well north of the main chain of the Andes. It’s black mask and breast band, white throat, striped head, and olive back make it easy to identify within its very limited range. Inhabits cloud forest understory, where it can be shy and hard to see. Often first detected by its high-pitched, squeaky song.