Hooded Tanager

Small dark babbler with a ring of pale exposed skin around the eye. Contrastingly pale bill stands out in the gloom of the undergrowth. Found in limestone forests, often near cliffs, gullies, and ravines. Climbs on vegetation and limestone karst in search of prey, often in both single-species and mixed-species flocks. Calls softly when foraging, but fairly quiet compared to other babblers.

A long- and stiff-tailed bird with primarily rusty-brown upperparts and dull orangish underparts. The head, mantle, and neck region are a dull, sooty black. The long graduated tail is pale gray with a wide black terminal band. Note the conspicuous silvery-gray, white, and black patterns on the wings. The blackish-gray bill is stout with a hooked tip. Found in a wide range of habitats from woodlands to scrubby patches, singly or in pairs feeding in the treetops. The call is a loud metallic “krowwiiii kroo.”

Relatively colorful cisticola with a rufous cap and back of the neck, and a gray back with dark streaking. There are two bands across the tip of the tail, one pale and one black. Found in open montane habitats including grassland, bracken, and marsh edge. The song consists of several consecutive “tsee-wit” couplets. As with other cisticolas, habitat and vocalizations are important to identification. Similar to Wailing Cisticola, but has a brighter rufous cap without streaking, and paler underparts.