Rufous-backed Honeyeater

Large raptor. Uniform black with silvery patches on undersides of wingtips. In flight, broad, rounded wings with distinct "fingers" are held flat like a board. Notice very short tail and small black head. Soars in flocks, often with other vultures and hawks. Flight style is distinctive; bat-like, strong snappy wingbeats followed by short glides. Look for them along highways eating roadkill, or picking through dumpsters.

Large and dazzling hummingbird found in the Andes of northern Colombia and barely into western Venezuela. Males look dark at a distance, but are unmistakable in good light: dark blackish head and breast with a green forecrown, a purplish-blue throat patch, and a glittering purplish-pink belly. On females, look for a buffy throat, a purplish-pink belly, and a long straight bill. Occurs in montane forests, edges, and gardens; visits feeders.

A sparrow-sized dark warbler with an often scruffy-looking, graduated tail. Has dark chestnut-brown upperparts, a whitish eyebrow, a distinct white throat, and dull grayish underparts. Formerly grouped with Buru Bush Warbler and Seram Bush Warbler under the name “Chestnut-backed Bush Warbler.” A secretive inhabitant of montane and foothill forest, often creeping around on or near the ground. Darker above and dingier below than Gray’s and Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warblers, and also has a clean-cut white throat; almost identical to Sulawesi and Seram Bush Warblers, but ranges do not overlap. Calls include a sharp metallic “chit” and a drawn-out, wavering buzzy note, “tzeeoooreee.” There is some variation in songs, which usually comprise three high-pitched buzzing notes, “tzeeee-tzeee-tzeee,” higher-pitched on the final note. Song includes a high, liquid-sounding “tzi-tzee”, as well as a longer, more repetitive “tzi-tzee, tzi-tzee, tzi-tzee.”