Purple-naped Spiderhunter

Attractive ground-dwelling bird. Slender and long-tailed, bright yellow below with paler throat and grayish-olive back; extremely variable. Tail is black with white outer feathers; often pumps tail up and down while walking on the ground. Young birds lack yellow color, but have distinctive head pattern. Often seen near water. Listen for high-pitched, piercing call note. Common breeder on Arctic tundra from Alaska to Russia; found in grassy and waterside habitats in Southeast Asian wintering grounds and in migration.

Endangered songbird restricted to the western slopes of the northern part of Colombia’s eastern Andes. Note the white spectacles, striped face, and barred wings and tail. Very similar to the widespread Rufous-and-white Wren, but duller brown, lacking rich chestnut tones in the plumage, and its song tends to be faster and higher in pitch. Range is also helpful for ID, since the two species have limited, if any, overlap. Skulks in the understory of dry to semi-humid forest as well as in shady coffee and cacao plantations.

Small grassy-green parrot that feeds on the ground. Bright green and yellow with blue wings and yellow lower belly with a central orange patch, yellowish throat, and thin mid-blue line between eyes. Compare Blue-winged Parrot (olive-green), Rock Parrot (duller olive-green) and Elegant Parrot (yellow-green, more distinct yellow patch in front of eye). Migratory, breeding in tree hollows on button grass moors in southwest Tasmania in summer, and wintering on saltmarsh in coastal Victoria and South Australia. Critically endangered and the subject of substantial conservation efforts. Calls include a soft buzzingchatter and a high-pitched, thin "ziiiit."