Golden-billed Saltator

Saltator aurantiirostris

Scarce and local in the Andean foothills of extreme northern Chile, but widespread in much of southern South America. Favors brushy hedgerows and scrubby thickets, usually in villages and around agricultural terraces. Sexes look similar and bold face pattern is distinctive, in combination with big orange bill. Juvenile has a dusky bill and duller face pattern, but soon attains adult appearance. Loud bright song can draw attention, but often sings from a concealed perch.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Saltator aurantiirostris
Authority
Vieillot, 1817
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Thraupidae
Genus
Saltator

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
unknown

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill

Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill

Bucorvus abyssinicus

A huge ground-dwelling hornbill. Males have a mix of blue and red bare facial skin, while females have entirely blue facial skin. In flight, a large white patch is revealed in the wings. Found in savanna, grassland, and agricultural habitats, usually in pairs or small groups, walking on the ground. Breeds and roosts in trees. Similar to Southern Ground-Hornbill, but there is little overlap in range, and Abyssinian is easily separated by the blue facial skin. The call is a series of deep “boop” notes. 

African Cuckoo-Hawk

African Cuckoo-Hawk

Aviceda cuculoides

Slim, long-winged, mid-sized raptor with oddly cuckoo-like markings. Has fairly weak, floppy flight and rarely soars. Generally uncommon species of thick savannah, woodland, and forest edge. Call is a long, mournful whistle. Although its shape is distinctive with practice, cuckoo-hawks can be confused with many other raptor species. Note the widely spaced rufous barring on the belly, and the small crest. Cuckoo-hawks are much slower and weaker fliers than any of the goshawks or sparrowhawks.

Eared Pitta

Eared Pitta

Hydrornis phayrei

This handsome pitta is about the color of a chocolate chip cookie. Only the warmer-colored male is “eared”, possessing the speckled silvery tufts on either side of the head. The female is darker, with extensive black speckling on the underparts. Both sexes have an elegant black mask extending from the bill base to the nape. Forages unobtrusively on the floor of lowland rainforests and dry deciduous forests. Gives a long, drawn-out whistle with the second half being deflected upwards.

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