Rarotonga Starling

A unique little songbird found in the temperate zone of the Andes from extreme western Venezuela to northern Peru. Not bright, but distinctively patterned with a black head, a buffy central crown stripe, staring pale eyes, and a gray body. Pairs or small flocks forage through shrubby forests and edges, often perching on the tops of bushes. Follows mixed-species flocks. Occurs from around 2,700 to 3,400 m.

Rather nondescript rufous bird with a long, spiky tail. The plumage is mostly chestnut with a dark brown rump, tail, and underparts. Found patchily in humid primary and second growth, usually in light gaps or in bamboo or vine tangles, where it typically forages near the ground. The song is a distinctive “prrrr-préét” of which the second note is higher. The similar Ruddy Spinetail has a black throat patch.

A furtive dark brown warbler of rocky gorges, dry river valleys, and boulder-strewn outcrops in semi-arid terrain. At close range, the gray throat in combination with the rusty crown, rump, and variable breast band are diagnostic. It actively hops on rocks and low bushes, sometimes vanishing into a pile of boulders or vegetation only to reappear some distance away. It is scarce and unobtrusive unless vocalizing, when it perches prominently to sing a series or repeated phrase of long, often slurred clear whistles, sometimes mixed with dry rattling buzzy notes.