Papuan Dwarf-Kingfisher

Largest ground-tyrant, usually identified readily by (relatively) big size and high Andean range. Usually seen as singles or pairs foraging on bogs, but also ranges into adjacent rocky puna habitats. Plumage rather plain overall with contrasting dirty whitish forehead patch; pale wing edgings create distinctive “frosty-winged” appearance in flight. Confusion only likely with smaller Ochre-naped Ground-Tyrant, on which ochre nape can be hard to see.

Gangly wader with a long bicolored bill. Breeding plumage is dark brick-red below (male) or pale orangey (female); nonbreeding plumage is overall gray-brown with white belly; compare to Black-tailed Godwit. In flight shows rather plain upperwings with only a faint whitish wing stripe; white rump and finely barred tail. Mainly coastal away from tundra breeding grounds. Often in flocks feeding on mudflats and in brackish coastal lagoons, roosting in adjacent freshwater habitats. Feeds by probing its long bill into the mud.

Small, often very skulking wren of lowlands and foothills in West Mexico; endemic. Favors tropical forests, thorn forests, and thickets, usually with vine tangles. Heard more often than seen. Song a happy-sounding, repeated series of sweet whistles. Calls include a rising trill, like running your thumbnail along a comb. Plumage distinctive, with striped face bordered below by black whisker, and orangish underparts. Often occurs alongside and sometimes in the same bush as the much plainer and different-sounding Sinaloa Wren.