Yellow-crowned Redstart

A beautiful, stocky inhabitant of high-elevation broadleaf and mixed forests. Looks like a babbler, but much more closely related to laughingthrushes. Male has a black mask, blue-gray crown, white throat, barred sides, and bright rufous back. Female is paler, with a brown face and a more yellowish back lined with black streaks. Forages at middle and upper levels, often in small groups, picking invertebrates from leaf clusters, ferns and orchids, and mossy crevices of trunks and branches. Listen for its loud song, an extended series of high-pitched, piercing “chee!” notes.

Tiny, hyperactive songbird usually found in conifer trees. Look for black stripes on the head and bold wing pattern. The namesake golden crown is usually just a small stripe, but can be flared into an expressive fiery-orange crest when agitated. Breeds in coniferous forests, usually staying high in trees. In migration and winter, often joins mixed flocks of other songbirds in a wider variety of wooded habitats. Very active; often hovers and flicks wings as it forages. Listen for extremely high-pitched call notes.

Large and relatively colorful cisticola with a rufous cap and back of the neck, and a black-streaked back. Found in lush grassland habitat. The song consists of chirping introductory notes followed by a long buzz. As with other cisticolas, habitat and vocalizations are important to identification. Very similar to Aberdare Cisticola, but lacks streaking on the back of the neck. Fairly similar to Croaking Cisticola, but has rufous on the head.