Pallid Scops-Owl

Small manakin-like bird that is actually a flycatcher. Looks big-headed with a short bill and large dark eyes. Olive-green above and yellow below, with a gray mask and two conspicuous wingbars. Several subspecies vary in the brightness of their plumage and in having a gray or yellow belly. Found in humid forests, including Araucaria forests and often follows mixed-species flocks. The song is a very slow and soft “whip, pip-pip, piririipip, pipi.”

Inconspicuous woodcreeper of forest canopy. Note relatively thin, somewhat curved bill. Inhabits tall rainforest where it is almost always observed with mixed-species flocks. Probes into bark crevices and epiphytes for insects. Guianan is smaller than similar woodcreepers that occur in the same area, but Guianan is more likely to forage along high horizontal branches. Frequently given call is a long, descending rattle; distinctive once learned.

A graceful aerial feeder found over a wide variety of open habitats, especially near water, including marshes and towns. Often seen on exposed perches including power and telephone lines in villages. Commonly found in flocks of up to twenty birds, sometimes mixing with other swallows and martins. Note the male’s diagnostic glossy purple-blue plumage and snow-white belly. Females and immatures are similarly patterned, but have brown mixed with the blue and are probably not safely separable from Cuban Martin. Female and immature Purple Martins are very similar, but they often have a scaly breast and finely streaked belly, with less contrast between belly and chest. Notably, Cuban and Purple Martins are not present in this species’ range from March to September. Calls include a harsh “churr,” a buzzy “zwick-zwick,” and a musical buzzy burbling.