Thekla's Lark

A large wader with a white body and bare black head and neck. Males and females look similar and both have grayish tail feathers. It probes into mud and shallow water with its long, down curved black bill, sometimes submerging its entire head. Found primarily around wetlands including agricultural fields and occasionally around coastal areas, but also seen foraging in dry fields and human-modified landscapes.

Handsome chunky gray-brown finch with a massive dark bill. Brown hood, white ear-patches, and brightly contrasting golden stripes in the dark wings and tail make this an easily recognizable species. Female has a less well-defined hood than the male, and less yellow in the tail. Juvenile is buffier (including ear-patches) and more streaky. An uncommon resident of woodland, dry scrubby rocky terrain, slopes and river beds, restricted to the southern Arabian Peninsula. Typically forages singly, in pairs, or in groups of up to 30, either on the ground, or in trees where they occasionally dangle by their feet like parrots. Song is a pleasant rolling series of sweet notes, with an almost thrush-like quality. Call a quick whip-like “weet.”

Scarce bird of wet high-elevation forest in the eastern Andes of northern and central Peru. Not often seen, since its remaining habitat is difficult to access. Plumage is striking, with reddish-orange eyebrow and underparts as well as a black mask. Similar to Rufous-breasted Warbling-Finch of the western Andes, but eyebrows are longer and do not connect over the bill. It tends to stay very low, which can make it quite hard to see well, and it often hops on the ground or along fallen logs. Sometimes joins mixed-species flocks. Typical song is a lengthy series of seemingly random squeaks and chips.