Annam Limestone Babbler

A tame and often conspicuous resident of thickets and tangles in a wide variety of habitats. Males are black with a red throat and vent, and females are buff and gray with rust on the wings and vent. The male is similar to the St. Lucia Black Finch, which has pale legs rather than black and lacks the Lesser Antillean Bullfinch’s red throat and vent. The female could be mistaken for a St. Lucia Black Finch or a female Black-faced Grassquit. The female black finch has a gray rather than brown crown and has pale (not dark) legs. Female grassquits are olive, not brown above and are smaller. The typical song is a series of three to seven “wheet” notes. Common calls include “chuk” and “tseet.”

Small, streaky antbird of humid forest along the east slope of the Andes; also found in lowlands away from the mountains in a few areas. Male is boldly striped with black and white. Female is black and tan with a similar stripy pattern but has plainer underparts. Inhabits dense vegetation at forest edge or overgrown clearings. Song is an excited series of doubled notes: “hiccup, hiccup, hiccup…”

Widespread and fairly common in northern South America. This medium-sized woodcreeper is found in open wooded habitats, scrub, and riparian forest. The well-named woodcreeper has a very straight bill that can even look slightly upturned unlike most other woodcreepers. Also note the bill’s pale color. Otherwise, mostly dark brown with fine streaking on the head and breast, but note the unstreaked back. Very similar to Zimmer’s Woodcreeper, but listen for Straight-billed’s slightly slower song that typically goes up in pitch at the end. Striped Woodcreeper has more streaking on the back and a slightly decurved bill. Usually seen singly or in pairs working up tree trunks and branches, usually at lower to middle levels in forest. Sometimes follows mixed-species flocks.