Gray-capped Tyrannulet

Small and compact with a small bill and a shorter tail compared to larger sparrows. Males have a gray head, a vivid rusty shoulder patch, a black throat, and a yellow patch at the base of the white mustache. Females are relatively clean-looking compared to males. Song is a series of high-pitched, sharp “tzip-tzip-tzip…” notes. The flight call is higher-pitched than larger sparrows. Breeds in thick scrub and trees where it builds a large and prominent nest that has unique thermoregulating properties for hot climates. A partial and short-distance migrant; moves in tight, fast-moving flocks.

Dull brown fulvetta with pale eyes, found only in central and south-central China. Note streaky throat, dark lores, and pale, narrow wing panel. Distinctive in its blandness; no other fulvetta in the region is essentially all brown with no dark eyebrows or significant patches of warmer, brighter colors. Occurs at 2200-4300 meters, favoring areas with shrubby oak or rhododendron cover. Typically forages low down or at middle levels of forest. Not as social as the “Alcippe” fulvettas, and are often encountered singly or in pairs, though small groups do occur. Song is a simple but variable series of whistles in which the first note or two rise and the last one or two fall, sometimes with an intermediary note in between: “tsi-tsi-dih-deer-deer.” Call is a high-pitched chittery rattle.

Medium-sized shy bird of tall forest. Both sexes easily recognizable by thick conical bill and contrasting black head; male’s red plumage renders it essentially unmistakable. Female similarly patterned, but with red replaced by yellow and olive. Found in middle and lower levels of rainforest, especially in hilly regions and premontane forests around the tepuis; locally distributed and nowhere common. Sometimes follows mixed-species flocks. Gives thin, lisping contact calls that are easily overlooked. Male’s song is a slow, rich, inflected warble, usually ending on a higher note; distinctive once learned.