Andean Pygmy-Owl

Glossy black corvid with a long, broad-tipped tail and brilliant blue eyes. Plumage shines glossy blue-green in good lighting. Small black mask encloses the eye and bill base. Compare Ratchet-tailed Treepie, which is darker-eyed and has a tail shaped like a chainsaw. Clambers and jumps through the vegetation, singly or in pairs or occasionally small flocks, in open lowland and foothill forests and forest edges. Gives various rasping, croaking, and nasal notes.

A large, boldly-marked, crested eagle with a long tail and broad wings, resembling a massive goshawk. The underparts of the adult are blotched and barred black-and-white; there is also a variable rufous wash across the breast. The pale immature has creamy-tan underwings. It is resident in thicker woodland and lowland, montane, and riverine forest, where it hunts monkeys and other small-to-medium-sized vertebrates. It has an undulating display flight coupled with a loud “wheee-yooo, wheee-yooo, wheee-yooo” call that often draws attention. Juvenile Crowned and Martial eagles are similar, but the Crowned has buffier underparts (and underwings), spotted flanks, and broader bars on the tail.

A medium-sized dark gray bird with a white eye, a black cap, and a carrot-colored bill. Endemic to the island of Reunion. Found in humid forest as well as secondary forest and forest dominated by exotic trees; now mostly confined to middle and high elevations. Often in small, noisy groups. Somewhat similar to male Reunion Cuckooshrike, but easily separated by the orange bill and pale eye. The song is an unmusical but varied series of rattling, metallic, and scraping notes, often given from a high perch. The calls include a “chek” note and a long mew.