Bluish Flowerpiercer
Diglossa caerulescens
Dull blue-gray flowerpiercer found in the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia. Dark reddish eye. Could be confused with Masked Flowerpiercer but duller overall without large black mask. Bill is less upswept than most flowerpiercers. Found singly or in pairs, often following a mixed-species flock through the forest canopy. Occurs from around 1,600-2,700m.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Diglossa caerulescens
- Authority
- (Sclater, PL, 1856)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Diglossa
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds

Blackcap Babbler
Turdoides reinwardtii
A mostly brownish babbler with a black head and a white eye. The underparts are pale in the west and become increasingly darker in the eastern part of the range. Found in moist woodland, dense savanna, scrub, gallery forest, forest edge, cultivated areas, and gardens. Almost always in groups, which feed by hopping across the ground. Similar in behavior, shape, size, and overall brown coloration to Brown Babbler, but easily separated by the black head and the lack of a contrastingly paler rump. Calls include a raspy babbling, nasal calls, and a dry clucking, all usually given by a whole group in chorus.

African Palm Swift
Cypsiurus parvus
A very slender gray-brown swift with a long, deeply forked tail that is often held closed, making it look needle-like and pointed. The erratic flight pattern, with frequent direction changes and rapid wingbeats on long, scythe-shaped wings, is distinctive. Less gregarious than other swifts; usually found in pairs or small flocks, and association with other swallows and swifts is usually only fleeting. Forages over a wide variety of habitats with palms, including savanna, coastal scrub, towns, villages, cultivated areas, forest edge, and clearings, from sea level up to 1800 meters of elevation, preferring lowlands. Nests and roosts in palms and uses its tiny legs with hook-like claws to cling to the undersides of fronds. Gives a high-pitched, metallic “tre-tit-tit-tit-tit-tit-tit-tit” call, solitarily or in unison with others. Separated from other swifts by its longer and thinner tail.

Collared Sparrowhawk
Tachyspiza cirrocephala
Small, delicately-built gray raptor with orange barring on chest and belly. When soaring, tail-tip is notched when not fanned out. When perched, look for a tiny bill, blank-staring expression (no heavy brow), and very skinny legs. Much less likely to circle high in sky than Brown Goshawk, and tends to stick to cover.
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