Reiser's Tyrannulet

Phyllomyias reiseri

Small, yellow-green flycatcher. Note the white lores and gray crown. An apparently rare and poorly-known inhabitant of gallery forests and tall savanna dry forests. May accompany mixed-species flocks. The song is a harsh series of notes: “briu-briu-briu-briu-briu-briu-briu.” Separated from the similar Greenish Tyrannulet, with which it commonly co-occurs, by smaller size, grayer crown, and yellow ear-coverts.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Phyllomyias reiseri
Authority
Hellmayr, 1905
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Tyrannidae
Genus
Phyllomyias

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
declining

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Malabar Whistling-Thrush

Malabar Whistling-Thrush

Myophonus horsfieldii

Deep blue ground-dweller with shining forehead and shoulder patches; belly can appear mottled blue-and-black in the right lighting. Inhabits foothills and montane forests, where it sticks closely to water, especially rocky streams and smaller rivers with overhanging vegetation and rocky ledges. Song is an eerie and human-like series of variable, deliberate-sounding whistles. Call is a high thin “tseeeeee.”

Goliath Heron

Goliath Heron

Ardea goliath

This enormous heron stands 1.5 meters tall and has a robust, dagger-like bill. The immature has rustier upperwings than the adult. Its flight is ponderous and labored. Goliath Heron inhabits large rivers, marshes, estuaries, and mangroves, hunting for large fish and other animals, stabbing them with an open bill. It has a distinct, barking “kowoork” call that can be heard from up to 2 km away. Purple Heron has similar plumage, but Goliath Heron is twice the size, has a much larger bill, and has a rufous (not blackish) top of the head.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tringa flavipes

Medium-sized shorebird with bright yellow legs. Plumage is essentially identical to Greater Yellowlegs: gray upperparts with white speckling, streaky neck, and white belly. Proportions are most important for identification. Lesser is smaller overall with shorter, narrower, straighter bill, shorter neck, more rounded head, and smaller chest. Forages actively on mudflats and in shallow pools and marshes, often in loose mixed flocks with Greater Yellowlegs. Somewhat more likely to be found in smaller, marshier habitats than Greater, but much overlap. Listen for soft, whistled “tew” calls, typically only one or two notes, unlike the stronger series of notes from Greater.

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