Hume's Boobook

Small, creeping bird of highland forest canopy. Chestnut cap, wings, and tail contrast with olive-brown back and gray underparts. At close range, note somewhat decurved bill. Found only in humid highland forests of the tepui region (above 800 m), particularly in areas with heavy growth of mosses and epiphytes. Forages by hitching up large branches and tree trunks, and also creeps along limbs, inspecting bromeliads and bark crevices from which it gleans insect prey. Often encountered with mixed-species flocks. Voice is a long series of high tinkling notes, dropping in pitch and accelerating. No similar species occurs in tepui highlands.

Medium-sized flycatcher of middle- and high-elevation scrub and open woodlands. Perches upright in bushes and trees, sallying out to catch insects on the wing. Males are black with a conspicuous white wing flash in flight created by white inner edges of the wing feathers; females are tan with white wingbars and reddish patches at the base of the tail and in the wings. Males are darker black and more iridescent than other black-tyrants. White wingbars and dark eye of female help distinguish it from similar species; it is lighter with a more prominent reddish rump patch than Jelski’s Black-Tyrant.

A rather small, demure understory denizen resembling a cross between a robin and a flycatcher. Mostly dull brownish-olive with a rusty rump and a paler throat and belly. Juvenile is more mottled. A local and endangered bird found singly and in pairs in thick undergrowth of primary and secondary forest, thickets, and coffee plantations, resident in a narrow range along the Angolan escarpment between 810 and 1300 meters of elevation. Sits for long periods, sallying to catch insect prey. Calls include a soft series of descending whistles. May be mistaken for a flycatcher, but its furtive nature and preference for thick understory are unique within its range.