Gray Shrikethrush

Small and fairly bright antpitta found in foothills and subtropics from Costa Rica to Bolivia. Typical antpitta shape: plump and short-tailed. Dull brown above. Messy-looking buffy face and eyering. Some geographic variation: breast color varies from buffy to whitish, and some populations show bold dark scaling on breast, while others are nearly unmarked. Sexes similar. Shy and difficult to see; stays on or near the ground in forest, often perching on small limbs a couple meters high (more so than the larger antpittas). Swings its body side to side. Song can be difficult to detect: a simple, extremely high pitched, descending whistle. Occurs from around 500–2,500 m, usually lower than other small antpittas.

Large hawk-like cuckoo of dense forests, where it usually forages deep in the canopy. Adult gray above and pale below, with gray and orange blotches and loose streaks on breast. Juvenile similar but streaked with brown below, similar to juvenile Malaysian Hawk-Cuckoo, but the latter has a prominent white patch on the nape and evenly distributed tail bands, lacking in Hodgson’s. Far more often heard than seen; song is very unlike that of other hawk-cuckoos: two sharp notes, usually (not always) followed by a series of clattering trills.

Massive tricolored vulture with whitish head and neck, pale brown body, and contrasting dark flight feathers. Juveniles similar but with a pale brown rather than white neck ruff. Nests in colonies on cliff ledges; often seen in loose flocks soaring over valleys and mountainsides but always in search of updrafts and thermals. Still the commonest vulture over much of its breeding range. Some populations are resident while others are highly migratory.