Magpie Mannikin

A skulking tanager found in dense undergrowth of humid forests and second growth often with bamboo. Males have a chestnut head with a black forehead and mask, but are otherwise gray. Females are olive-green above and gray below with a hint of rufous on the cap. The song is a very high-pitched “pseee-pseee-pseee, tweee-tweee-tweee.”

A strange, chunky rusty-brown forest babbler with a white face and throat, pale blue-gray eyes, and a pale bill, rendering it unmistakable. Juvenile has a browner throat. Family groups of 5–12 move quickly and noisily through the canopy and middle levels of montane forest between 1000 and 2100 meters of elevation, dangling upside down or behaving like nuthatches, investigating moss, ferns, and bark for food. Groups give harsh grating calls mingled with sweeter nasal “nyeeer” notes. 

Small, warbler-like flycatcher found in cloud forest along the east slope of the Andes in Ecuador, northern Peru, and southern Colombia. Plumage is yellow-olive with a gray crown, yellowish wingbars, white eyebrow, and black stripe through the eye. Facial pattern is not well-defined, imparting a “messy” look. Also note thin, black bill. Forages actively in the forest canopy, frequently giving a dry, sputtering trill, and is almost always encountered with mixed-species flocks.