Mountain Wren-Babbler

Gypsophila crassa

This small mouse-like undergrowth inhabitant can be difficult to spot in the tangled, well-shaded montane forest ravines, gullies, and streams it favors. Listen for its song, a series of high, distinct piping whistles: “hi-hee-hu-huh-hi” or variants thereof. Can be quite inquisitive, allowing close approach; look for a small chunky brown bird with elegant pale eyebrows, an overall brown body with strong streaking, and a contrasting pale throat. Eyebrowed Wren-Babbler overlaps marginally in range but averages lower in elevational preference; it also has white spots on the wings and a different song.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Gypsophila crassa
Authority
(Sharpe, 1888)
Order
Not a bird
Family
Not a bird
Genus
Gypsophila

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
declining

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Utcubamba Tapaculo

Utcubamba Tapaculo

Scytalopus intermedius

Small, plain bird found at high elevations in the eastern Andes in northern Peru. Adult male is dark gray, often looking black in the field. Females and young birds are browner, especially on the lower underparts. Similar to Large-footed Tapaculo, but smaller and has a different voice. Gives low-pitched, froglike notes either in a steady series or in shorter, faster bursts. Inhabits understory of elfin cloud forest, often near tree line, and stays low where it is hard to see.

Waved Albatross

Waved Albatross

Phoebastria irrorata

Large and gangly seabird that nests only in Galápagos and on Isla de la Plata (a small island near Ecuador’s central coast). When not breeding, it disperses over the eastern Pacific Ocean as far south as Chile. The only albatross likely to be seen in and near Galápagos. Adult is brown with a white head and neck and a large, yellow bill. Head and neck have a slight yellow tinge. Young birds are almost all brown and gradually develop the white head. Can be seen on land only at nesting sites, where pairs engage in elaborate courtship displays. Outside of the breeding season, it is usually only encountered far out to sea.

Scaly Laughingthrush

Scaly Laughingthrush

Trochalopteron subunicolor

Dark golden-brown laughingthrush with extensive black-edged scaling all over its body. Wings are paler, brighter yellow, with slight blue-gray highlights toward the tip. Somewhat similar to Blue-winged Laughingthrush, but that species is browner, with a much broader blue wing panel and a narrow black eyebrow. Scaly Laughingthrush forages on the ground and in undergrowth, often in pairs.

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