Peruvian Screech-Owl

Small, pale piculet. Light tan below, olive-brown above, with a black-and-white speckled crown; males have a red crown patch. Found in secondary forest, usually where there is dense understory, often bamboo, with emergent trees. Listen for its distinctive song, a descending series of 5-8 very high pitched notes (more notes than any other piculet in its range).

A small gray-brown swift with long thin wings and a long heavily-forked tail. Darker above and paler below. Can be seen in rapid fluttering flight, often making trilling “tiririree” calls while foraging on insects in pairs or loose flocks. Mostly seen over open areas such as fields and agricultural land, but partial to areas with palms on which they breed.

Handsome, mostly silvery gray bird of tropical lowland forest and adjacent semi-open areas with taller trees. Usually found at mid-upper levels of fruiting trees, sometimes in small groups that mix readily with the commoner Masked Tityra. Black-crowned is told from slightly larger Masked by its solidly black bill. Male is more silvery overall, with a black cap; female had brown face and smaller black cap. Tityras nest in tree cavities, that they sometimes steal from woodpeckers.