Rusty Laughingthrush

Very local. Breeds commonly (September to March) in groves of tamarugo trees in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile; most birds then migrate north to foothills of the Andes in northern Chile and southern Peru. Active and restless, feeding low to high in flowering trees, at times in small flocks. Identified readily by pointed bill, rusty bib, and rusty eyebrow on mostly blue-gray plumage; also note rusty vent and white wing flash. Immature and female average duller than male; briefly held juvenile plumage is heavily streaked below.

Large terrestrial Furnariid endemic to rocky hillsides and rushing streams of the Sierra de Comenchingones in central Argentina. From similar White-winged Cinclodes by Olrogs’ light brown (not white) bases to primary coverts, and darker chest contrasting markedly with white throat.

Tiny, plump gray-and-brown bird that looks almost tailless. Males are ashy gray with warm reddish brown on their back half; females are similar, with the warm reddish brown extending farther up the back to the crown. Forages singly or in pairs low in dense vegetation in stunted elfin forest and humid shrubby grassland at high elevations, at and above the treeline; often found in Polylepis groves. A bit less shy than most tapaculos, but still heard far more often than seen. Its song is a single squeaky “tcheur” note, repeated at a steady pace of about 1-2 notes per second in a long series.