Maracaibo Tody-Flycatcher

Small flowerpiercer. Male distinctive: slaty gray above and warm tawny-buff below with no contrasting markings on wings. Bill is upturned with a hook at the tip, typical of a flowerpiercer. Female more confusing, overall dull brownish. Indistinct streaking on breast separates from all other flowerpiercers. Found in fairly open shrubby areas, woodlands, and gardens; not in forest.

Rare cotinga found along the east slope of the Andes in Bolivia and southern Peru. Plumage is mostly gray with chestnut flanks and rump. Its oddly shaped wings are usually not evident in the field. Inhabits middle levels of humid forest, and sometimes joins mixed-species flocks. Usually silent, but gives soft squeals and clucks on rare occasions.

A medium-sized dark-backed albatross with pale underwings outlined by a narrow dark border and a dark notch in the armpit. The adult has a whitish head with grayish cheeks that give it a “white-capped” appearance. The gray-green bill has a yellowish tip to both mandibles. Juveniles are grayer on the head with gray bills. The species breeds on islands off Tasmania and New Zealand but disperses widely across the southern Oceans between 15 and 60°S, where it is a frequently encountered pelagic seabird. Similar albatrosses have a dark-tipped (not pale-tipped) lower half to the bill, and Salvin’s Albatross has a pale gray head and Chatham Albatross a slaty-gray head, further differentiating them from White-capped Albatross. Juveniles of these three are very difficult to separate.