Blue-and-yellow Tanager

Long-tailed cuckoo that clambers about in the branches like a squirrel. Male predominantly bright rufous-brown with darker tail, female has gray head and chest. Both sexes have bright blue skin around the eye and blue bill. Forages in middle levels of vegetation in lowland and foothill forests, singly or in pairs. Gives sharp meowing calls (often repeated), as well as croaks and chirping notes.

Common earthcreeper of wooded and shrubby parts of the high Andes and Altiplano from NW Argentina to N Bolivia, including ravines and Polylepis woodland. Despite its name, prefers low vegetation, and is generally absent from open desert areas (where Straight-billed Earthcreeper is more common). From other earthcreepers by thick streaks on belly and rufous tail. Song a series of rising, squeaky nasal “weep!” notes.

Large, spectacular woodpecker with crimson upperparts, black-scaled pale underparts, and a crested head. Males have a red crest, females a black crest with fine white markings. Endemic to Sri Lanka. Typically in pairs, in the understory of forests and woodlands, where it regularly joins mixed species flocks; can also occasionally be found in disturbed areas or home gardens. Note the pale ivory colored bill, and lack of a prominent white eyebrow, unlike the similar Red-backed Flameback. Also note a distinctive elliptical marking on the face below the eye, which distinguishes this flameback from all other flamebacks on Sri Lanka. Frequently given call is a rapid, fast-paced, high-pitched trill, usually getting quieter and decelerating at the end. A fast-paced, descending drum is also given regularly; both the call and drum are different from that of the more common Red-backed Flameback.