Golden-breasted Fruiteater
Pipreola aureopectus
Chubby, medium-sized bird with green and yellow body, short tail, orange eyes, and small orange bill. Male has black lores and chin, bright yellow throat and chest, and yellow belly with green streaks; female lacks black face and has yellowish underparts with green streaks. Often follows mixed-species flocks or perches quietly in the middle to high levels of the forest. Fairly common in forested habitats from foothills to highlands. Very vocal; listen for a very high-pitched song that starts out descending and then ascends and stops suddenly: “pseEEEeeeeeeeeaaaeeeeEET.” Female distinguished from Handsome Fruiteater by green streaks (not bars) on underparts.
Identification
The adult golden-breasted fruiteater is about 17 cm (6.7 in) in length. The male has dark areas on the chin and lores, but otherwise the upper parts are green. The tertial wing feathers have pale tips. The throat and upper chest are bright yellow and the belly is lemon yellow with green streaks on the flanks. The female is bright green above, with pale tertials, and yellow, heavily streaked with green below. The eyes are yellow, the beak orange and the legs greyish-green. The voice is a high-pitched, multi-syllable phrase that first rises and then falls and lasts for up to three seconds.
Taxonomy
Genus: Pipreola; Family: Cotingidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Pipreola aureopectus
- Authority
- (Lafresnaye, 1843)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Cotingidae
- Genus
- Pipreola
Range and habitat
This species is found in mountainous regions of northeastern Colombia and northern Venezuela on the east side of the Andes. A separate population is known from the west slope of the mountain range in western Colombia. It lives in lower and medium-level montane forests, mostly at altitudes between 1,000 and 2,300 m (3,300 and 7,500 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Aberdare Cisticola
Cisticola aberdare
A large and relatively colorful cisticola endemic to Kenya, found locally in montane grassland and moorland. The cap and back of the neck are dull rufous with darker streaking, the back is heavily streaked with black, and there is a rufous panel in the wings. As with other cisticolas, habitat and vocalizations are important to identification. Very similar to Stout Cisticola, but has streaking on the back of the neck. The common vocalizations are a quick series of several squeaky notes, and a series of lower liquid notes.
Dark Chanting-Goshawk
Melierax metabates
A tall, long-tailed, slaty-gray hawk with pink-orange legs and bill base. The flight feathers and wing tips are dark on both the upper and under wings, creating a uniformly dark wing pattern in flight. Pairs inhabit broadleaved woodland and well-wooded savanna. Chanting-goshawks give a strong, gull-like “kleeeu” call, hence their name. Dark Chanting-Goshawk always has a gray-barred rump, while other chanting-goshawks are paler, prefer drier habitats, and have unbarred white rumps. Eastern Chanting-Goshawk has yellow skin at the base of the bill. Pale Chanting-Goshawk has pale inner flight feathers and dark wing tips, creating a very contrasting wing pattern.
Bronze-olive Pygmy-Tyrant
Pseudotriccus pelzelni
A tiny, rotund flycatcher found singly in the understory of montane forest from Panama to Peru. Very nondescript plumage: darker olive above with a dull tawny breast and yellowish belly. Looks uniformly brownish in bad light. Usually stays low, where it perches quietly and sallies out to glean insects. Often detected by its snapping sounds and whirring wingbeats. Occurs from around 700–2,000 m, typically lower than Rufous-headed Pygmy-Tyrant but some elevation overlap.
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