Black-faced Solitaire
Myadestes melanops
Sleek medium-sized thrush with a beautiful voice. Listen for its fluty, ethereal phrases drifting over montane forests. Sexes alike: entirely gray with black face, black wings, and orangey bill and legs. Juveniles confusingly browner and spotted, but note similar shape, small bill, and dark face. Unobtrusive and not very active; most often seen while feeding at a fruiting tree.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Myadestes melanops
- Authority
- Salvin, 1865
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Turdidae
- Genus
- Myadestes
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Drab-breasted Pygmy-Tyrant
Hemitriccus diops
Tiny flycatcher found in the understory of forests with bamboo. Plain olive-brown above and buff below. Note the white spot on the face and the reddish-brown iris. The similar Brown-breasted Pygmy-Tyrant has a buff facial spot and is usually found at higher elevations than Drab-breasted Pygmy-Tyrant, which is found below 1,200 m. The song is a short “trrii-trrii trri tii” trill.
Greater Antillean Elaenia
Elaenia fallax
A small inconspicuous flycatcher of montane wooded habitats. This species’ bold wingbars readily distinguish it from the similarly sized Jamaican and Hispaniolan Pewees as well as Jamaican Elaenia. Its full song is a descending whistled “Cheeeu” followed by a quick “wibit-wibit.” Call notes include a descending whistled “Tseeee-oo” or a quick “wibit” as in song, though sometimes given in rapid succession.
Grayish Eagle-Owl
Bubo cinerascens
A fairly large gray owl with small ear tufts. The eyes are dark brown. Found in a variety of woodland and savanna habitats, often around cliffs and other rocky areas. Frequently in pairs. Very similar to Spotted Eagle-Owl, but there is little range overlap, and Grayish is easily separated by its dark eyes. The call is a single short “hoooo.”
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