Rusty-tailed Flycatcher

Attractive medium-sized laughingthrush with a gray body, golden-yellow wings, dark face, and chestnut crown. Also note dark orangish “bib”, the color of which varies by range; northern birds have the brightest patches. Namesake silver ear patches are rather rounded and blend smoothly into the gray of the neck. Scratches around noisily in dense undergrowth, often singly, or in pairs or small flocks; may come out into the open in areas where routinely fed and habituated to people. Found in montane and hill forests, as well as forest edges with dense low growth. Gives a mellow “wowee-wowEER!”

Very local, scarce, and endangered small sparrow of desert plateau in northeast Mexico. Mainly found in rolling, short-cropped grassland (especially prairie-dog towns), with scattered yuccas and junipers. Forms flocks in winter, mixing readily with other small, rather similar sparrows such as Chipping and Clay-colored sparrows. Note the pink bill, rusty cap, whitish eyering, and dark legs.

A medium-sized cuckoo, with a warm buff colored chest and belly. Bright yellow eyering and heavily barred tail. Take care to identify from Brush Cuckoo (which has a gray eyering), and from Pallid Cuckoo (which is paler and lacks the warm breast tones). Often detected by sound since this species calls frequently with a descending trill. Perches in the midstory on exposed branches, and flushes easily to a nearby perch.