Writhed Hornbill

A tiny, short-billed sunbird with a metallic-green back and a yellow belly. The male has a green throat and a narrow purplish breast band; the female is duller, with a yellow throat and no breast band. Pairs frequent forest edge, woodland, and savanna, where they join mixed-species flocks to glean leaves and hover to catch insect prey. But they will also feed on fruit and nectar, often by piercing the base of a flower and sucking out nectar without pollinating. The “yellow-bellied” races of Variable Sunbird differ from Collared Sunbird by being larger, with a longer bill and broader purple-blue breast band.

Common and noisy leader of mixed-species flocks in rainforest understory; almost never seen away from flocks. Note hunched posture and tendency to partially flare tail when perched. Adult male’s plumage entirely gray; female rich buff and rufous. Perches conspicuously in lower-to-middle strata, darting out to catch insects flushed by other members of the flock. Dusky-throated Antshrike behaves similarly and is often in the same flocks. Male Cinereous lacks black throat, and female Cinereous is more richly colored than Dusky-throated Antshrike. Calls of the two species are very different.

A medium-sized bird of foothill forest midstory. Brown back, pale cinnamon belly, gray head and white throat. Similar to Little Shrikethrush, but Rusty Whistler is smaller and usually has a contrasting white throat. Often found in pairs foraging for insects. A vocal species with a typical whistler array of notes, including various warbles and a ringing, high-pitch note, often followed by a downward “chew chew!” or a sharp upward “wik wik!”.