Apurimac Brushfinch

Atlapetes forbesi

Localized red-headed sparrow-like bird. Has an ashy gray body, a rusty red head, a black face, and white lores and mustache. Forages on or near the ground in scrub and Polylepis woodlands at high elevations. Listen for a choppy series of high metallic whines, buzzy whistles, and chips.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Atlapetes forbesi
Authority
Morrison, 1947
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Passerellidae
Genus
Atlapetes

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
declining

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Great Frigatebird

Great Frigatebird

Fregata minor

A large black seabird that holds its wings in a distinctive crook. The long, forked tail may appear pointed when folded. Males are all black with a red throat pouch. Females have a white breast. Immatures have a white head and breast. All-dark plumage of male and lack of a pale “armpit” in female and immature separate this species from Lesser and Christmas Island Frigatebirds. Separation from Magnificent Frigatebird can be difficult; note pale wing panel in males and indistinct pale throat in females (Magnificent females have a clean all-dark head). Nests in trees and bushes on tropical islands. Often seen flying along the shoreline, sometimes very high, and sometimes inland. Chases other seabirds to steal their prey.

Checker-throated Woodpecker

Checker-throated Woodpecker

Chrysophlegma mentale

Ornate medium-sized woodpecker. Moss-green with blood-red wings and neck. Back edge of head and neck are brightened by a sunny yellow crest. Black-and-white “checker” throat is not particularly obvious. Prefers mature lowland and hill forests; seldom seen in secondary growth or sparsely-vegetated edge. Typically forages at mid-levels of forest, frequently singly but also in mixed flocks or pairs. Gives loud, insistent “nyeh” notes and a strident “choo-yik!”

Gray Currawong

Gray Currawong

Strepera versicolor

Large, crow-sized bird, gray or black, with large black bill and yellow eye. In flight, white undertail, tail tip, and primary bases distinctive; some subspecies of Pied Currawong very similar, but Gray has narrow pale trailing edge to wing in all plumages. Black Currawong has thicker bill and dark undertail. Loud ringing, clinking song, reminiscent of some lyrebird sounds.

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