San Blas Jay
Cyanocorax sanblasianus
Handsome blue-and-black jay of tropical forests, woodlands, and gardens endemic to west Mexico. Usually in small groups, which can be noisy and conspicuous or very quiet and easily overlooked; often with Yellow-winged Caciques. Around the town of San Blas (in Nayarit, Mexico), appreciably larger Purplish-backed Jay occurs at southern end of its range (and northern end of San Blas Jay’s range). Purplish-backed is deep purplish blue on back and tail, not strikingly two-toned blue-and-black like San Blas Jay, and has bright yellow legs. Voices also very different. Purplish-backed occurs in mangroves and adjacent woodlands in and around town while San Blas Jay occurs in foothill forest of coffee plantations south of town.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Cyanocorax sanblasianus
- Authority
- (Lafresnaye, 1842)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Corvidae
- Genus
- Cyanocorax
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Calidris acuminata
Medium-sized sandpiper with distinct cap. Breeding adults are heavily marked with chevrons and spots on the underparts and have a rich chestnut cap and white eyeing. Nonbreeding adults are duller grayish-brown with a drab brown cap. Juveniles are brightest, with a plain buffy breast, bright cap, and contrasting white eyeline. At all ages, note dull greenish legs and variable paler color at the base of the bill. Similar to Pectoral Sandpiper, but Sharp-tailed is usually brighter (breeding adults and juveniles especially) and lacks a sharp demarcation between streaked breast and white belly. Primarily an Asian species, breeding on tundra in Russia and wintering to Australia and New Zealand. Regular migrant in Alaska; rare to Pacific coast of U.S. and Canada. Found in freshwater marshes and coastal mudflats, sometimes inland. Listen for excited “peep!” calls, often doubled, and other soft twitters.
Green-and-gold Tanager
Tangara schrankii
Small green tanager of lowland rainforest. Looks mostly green with a black mask and yellow belly. Sexes alike. One of the most common mature forest tanagers and a regular member of mixed-species flocks. Regularly seen both high in the canopy and lower inside the forest understory.
Bioko Speirops
Zosterops brunneus
In the field, appears overall chocolate-brown with a slightly long blue-gray bill and blue-gray legs. Plumage is paler on the flanks and vent and darker near the face. Endemic to the island of Bioko, where it is found almost exclusively in the alpine zone at the top of Pico Basilé. Calls include rapid, short “peeps” and “siks” as well as longer churring notes.
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