Townsend's Solitaire

Chunky brown songbird with a weak crest, typically found on the ground in open fields and meadows. Darker above than below, with fine black streaking on the chest and light chestnut ear coverts with dark border. Very similar to Eurasian Skylark, with which it shares much of its range, but Oriental has buffy, not white, outer tail edges and trailing edge of wing. Breeding males “skylark,” singing a series of variable notes while hovering high above the territory.

Small parrot with short square tail. Mostly green with red forehead and shoulder. In flight, partially yellow underwings and yellow in tail are visible. Restricted range; prefers montane forests, where it forages inconspicuously in the canopy and is sometimes seen in pairs or small flocks in flight. Combination of small size and tail shape is distinctive in range. Feeds on fruit.

Compact leaf warbler with two whitish wingbars (one broad and prominent), greenish-gray upperparts, an indistinct crown stripe, and conspicuous white tips to the innermost flight feathers. Bill and legs usually dark. Extremely similar to Yellow-browed Warbler, but grayer and “colder” overall, with less extensive orangish coloration on the lower bill. Also compare with Two-barred Warbler and Greenish Warbler, both of which lack a crown stripe and have more extensive orange on the bill. Breeds in alpine shrubbery in mountain ranges flanking the Tibetan Plateau. Winters mostly in the plains just south of the Himalayas, but also on wet hilltops farther south. Often heard but not seen, it is best told from other leaf warblers by its distinct “chew-wee” call. Song is a remarkable descending insect-like buzz. Prone to long-distance vagrancy.