Lyre-tailed Honeyguide

A boldly patterned helmetshrike of lowland forests, often seen in small vocal groups. The bill is red and the head and chin are overall silvery gray. Has a black neck band and black wings, back, and tail. The chest is white and the belly, vent, and legs are reddish. Similar to the Red-billed Helmetshrike, with which it co-occurs locally in Cameroon, but Rufous-bellied Helmetshrike can be identified by its silvery gray chin and head (including below the eye) and the more extensive reddish coloration on its belly. Calls consist of liquid whistles and repeated grating “chew-two” calls. 

Small warbler-like bird with a gray head, yellowish-green body, and varying amounts of white around the eye; lacks the well-defined white “spectacles” of typical white-eyes. Birds in the montane regions of far western and far eastern Java have a dark patch between the eye and the base of the bill, and minimal white on the face (a full thin eyering in eastern birds, and a white crescent under the eye in western birds), while birds in central Java have a large but poorly-defined white patch around the eye. Forages actively in wooded and forested areas from foothills to mountaintops, often in pairs or groups. Joins mixed-species flocks. Song is a bright series of whistled notes; calls include rattling, high-pitched “tchrr”s and sharply falling whistles.

Plump, medium-sized shorebird with very long bill. Extremely similar to Long-billed Dowitcher, and often flocks with it. Best distinguished by voice: a rapid series of notes, “tu-tu-tu”, lower-pitched and almost always in a series, unlike single piercing “keek!” of Long-billed. At all ages, look for subtle structural differences: Short-billed averages flatter-backed, slightly shorter-billed, and slightly shorter, especially noticeable when in a mixed flock. Breeding birds are intricately patterned with a variable amount of orange on the underparts. Short-billed usually has some white on the belly, and paler upperparts with bolder golden and white markings. Also look for messy and extensive spotting on sides, not sparsely barred like Long-billed Dowitcher. Nonbreeding plumage is brownish-gray overall with a paler belly; extremely similar to Long-billed but averaging slightly paler and more patterned, especially on the breast and sides. Juveniles are easiest to identify: look for bright golden markings on the tertials and scapulars. Short-billed breeds in grassy wetlands and tundra, and can be found in a variety of wetland habitats in migration and winter. A very early fall migrant, with southbound birds appearing in the U.S. by late June. Usually in flocks, feeding actively like a sewing machine. Tends to favor saltwater marshes, beaches, and mudflats. Somewhat less likely in freshwater habitats than Long-billed, but much overlap, especially the hendersoni subspecies that migrates primarily through the center of the continent.