Yellow-bibbed Lory

A rather long-tailed and long-winged bird with a short stubby head, similar in proportions to a small cuckooshrike. Plumage distinctively clean-cut in black and white, with mostly black upperside and white underside, broad white wing panels, and a white rump barred black. Belly often tinged with chestnut. Appears dependent on primary undisturbed forest. Often quiet, but voice reportedly includes a nasal “tchow-tchow-de-weet.”

Greenish overall with a darker back and head, a yellower throat and breast, and a reddish tinge to the flanks. The only species in its range with bright white spectacles around the eyes. Endemic to the island of Annobón, where it is one of the most common (and one of the only) small forest birds. Can be found in virtually all wooded habitats on the island. Song is a warble of jumbled notes, and calls include short trills and “sip” notes.

Very large, but rather local coot; rare except at a few lakes in the high Andes set amid barren and rocky surroundings. Often far out on deep-water lakes, where it looks rather uneventful: black overall with a pale yellowish bill. Seen up close, note the bizarre, erectile black “horn” appendage covering the bill base. Juvenile is dark sooty gray with a whitish throat. Builds remarkable nest mounds of stones topped with weeds that look like the tips of huge underwater volcanoes and take months, if not years, to complete.