Chestnut Teal

Small, very local tanager of humid Pacific-slope foothills in Chiapas and Guatemala. Found in evergreen forests and adjacent shade-coffee plantations. Usually in pairs or small groups that forage at all levels, but often in the canopy of taller trees. Sexes look alike: pale bluish overall with contrasting black shoulders and black spotting across the breast. In good light, varied lilac, green, and turquoise sheens are apparent on the upperparts.

A long-tailed bird of montane forest canopy. Male has much longer tail with an iridescent green head and bib with a black chest band bordered with a thin gold stripe. Female is blackish with barring on the belly. Feeds on fruit and searches for insects on mossy branches and epiphytes. Similar to Ribbon-tailed Astrapia (with which it can hybridize), but female Stephanie’s lacks the iridescence on the head and the male’s tail is black rather than white. Voice, a rising, nasal “week!”.

Small, colorful flycatcher found in lowland and foothill rainforest. Ranges primarily in eastern Ecuador, but also reaches adjacent areas of southern Colombia and northern Peru. Black, white, gold, and chestnut plumage pattern is unique in range. Told from Common Tody-Flycatcher by yellow back and golden wing stripe. In southern Peru it is replaced by the similar Black-backed Tody-Flycatcher. Typically found in pairs that hide in tangles at forest edge or in overgrown clearings. Call is a short, dry trill, often given repeatedly by both members of the pair.