Tepui Vireo
Vireo sclateri
Small, arboreal bird of tepui highlands. Olive-gray above and yellowish below, with a gray head, pinkish bill, and pale eye. One of the most widespread tepui endemics, it occurs in both tall and stunted forest on tepui slopes and on isolated formations at elevations as low as 500 meters. Forages actively, searching foliage for insects and often joining mixed-species flocks. Usually heard before it is seen. Song is a distinctive two-parted whistle, with varying degrees of inflection, the second note lower-pitched. Also gives harsh scold notes like other vireos. Most similar to Lemon-chested Greenlet but has very different voice and occurs at higher elevations.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Vireo sclateri
- Authority
- (Salvin & Godman, 1883)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Vireonidae
- Genus
- Vireo
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-lored Spinetail
Synallaxis albilora
Typical spinetail with a long spiky tail, a grayish head, cinnamon wings and tail, a white throat, and rather bright tawny underparts. Sexes similar. The whitish lores are not particularly conspicuous. Inhabits the understory of gallery forest in southwestern Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia. Note voice: a sharp, nasal “keeeu...kit-kweet!” Compare with Plain-crowned Spinetail, which has less richly colored underparts and a faster song.
Black-headed Cuckooshrike
Lalage melanoptera
Male has dark slaty-gray head, neck, and upper breast; rest of the body is pale gray, with white on the belly. Wings darker than mantle. Female lacks the black hood, and has a whitish supercilium, brownish-gray upperparts with lightly barred back and rump, and buff-white underparts with wide brown bars. Juvenile is similar to female, but upperparts barred white. Immature similar to female. Song is a series of clear, loud whistles: “pee-pe-pe-pe-pe-twe-twee.” Some notes can be omitted, or additional notes added.
Recurve-billed Bushbird
Clytoctantes alixii
Unique, medium-sized antbird with a spectacular heavy and markedly upturned bill. Male is slate gray with a black throat, breast, and tail, and black dotted wings. Female is chestnut with a darker tail and buffy spotted wings. Rare, local, and hard to see, typically skulking in the dark understory of second growth and mature forest in foothills, often in areas with dense bamboo. Best found by voice; song a series of short notes accelerating “deeu-deee-dee-dee-eet-et.”
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