Black-collared Apalis

Medium-sized brown bird with a long, spiky tail. Found in a wide variety of moist and woody habitats, including rainforest, wet scrub, plantations, and gardens. Absent or very local in much of west and southwest Madagascar. Skulks in thick undergrowth. Incessantly given call is a Geiger counter-like ticking. Darker brown than Subdesert Brush-Warbler, with a lower-pitched call and little overlap in range. Similar to Madagascar Swamp-Warbler, but has less distinct breast streaking and white eyebrow, and is generally found in scrub rather than marsh.

Uncommon medium-sized owl found in the subtropical and temperate zones of the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia. Patterned with rufous, dark brown, and white overall. Shows especially noticeable rufous on the facial disk and a spotted white belly. Occurs in the middle to upper levels of humid cloud forests from around 1,700–3,000 m. Nocturnal. Like most owls, more easily heard than seen. Vocalizations similar to Black-and-white Owl—a series of short hoots with a forceful longer hoot at the end—but slower.

A medium-sized bird of lowland and foothill forest. Slender, with a medium-length bill and tail. The male is entirely black with some blue gloss on the back and crown. Female is slaty-gray with a blackish face and tail. Female is similar to Black-bibbed Cuckooshrike, but larger and more uniformly dark gray in color. The black male differs from other black birds like Philippine Fairy-Bluebird and Asian Glossy-Starling by its dark rather than red eye. Song is a forceful, descending whistle, “tiiuuuu!”