Green-backed Tit

A pugnacious hummingbird that feeds on flowers and insects and is sometimes found flycatching. Inhabits a broad range of habitats. Often tame around humans. The long-tailed male is swathed entirely in iridescent green and has a distinctive red base to the bill, except for a white patch below the belly and a white spot behind the eye. The female is metallic green above, dingy white below, and has a relatively long, forked tail. The female Bee Hummingbird is much smaller, shorter billed, shorter tailed, and is iridescent turquoise above unlike the Cuban Emerald. Female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have shorter, unforked tails with white on the tail tip. Vocalizations include a prolonged jumbled series of high-pitched squeaks and buzzes and a high-pitched but descending “tsee, tsee, tsee, tse, tse.”

Small flowerpiercer with restricted range in western Colombia and northwest Ecuador. Entirely ultramarine blue, though can appear dark in poor light. Most distinctive feature is its piercing red eye. Also note the typical flowerpiercer bill: uniquely upswept with a hooked tip. Found in the subtropical zone of the Andes, where singles or pairs forage at all levels of forest and edge, often following mixed-species flocks.

A highly distinctive medium-sized raptor. Black overall with a thick white breast band and rusty-edged white stripes on the belly. Slender crest may be held vertically or at an angle when the bird is perched, but tends to be hidden during flight. If seen flying from above, note the “checkerboard” patterning on upperwings. Favors foothill and lowland forests when breeding, but can be found in more open habitats on passage and in wintering grounds. Quite social outside of the breeding season, often soaring in large flocks and roosting communally. Gives a squeaky, echoing whistle, often while in flight.