Black-and-yellow Silky-flycatcher
Phainoptila melanoxantha
Plump fruit-eating bird with uncertain taxonomic affiliations. Shape, small bill, and plumage are distinctive. Male is mostly black above with yellow rump, dirty yellow chest and flanks, and gray belly. Female is olive above with gray head and contrasting black cap. Feeds on fruit in montane forests, usually singly or in pairs. Slow-moving, often sitting still. Limited range.
Identification
The black-and-yellow phainoptila is a small, rotund bird with distinctive yellow flanks. Males have a black back, head and tail, yellow flanks and rump, olive breasts and grey bellies. Females have a black cap, olive breast, rump, wings and tail, yellow flanks, and grey throat, nape, and belly. The young are similar to adult females, but are duller and with no grey on nape and dusky streaking on breast.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Phainoptila melanoxantha
- Authority
- Salvin, 1877
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ptiliogonatidae
- Genus
- Phainoptila
Range and habitat
Black-and-yellow phainoptilas are found from Costa Rica to western Panama, in mountains from 1800 m (6000 ft.) to timberline, although they may wander lower after breeding season. They are also found in highland forests and adjacent second growth and gardens.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Collared Finchbill
Spizixos semitorques
An unmistakable medium-sized songbird: dark olive-green with a black head, white collar, gray “whiskers” on the face, and black-tipped tail. Namesake yellow bill is stout and slightly curved, unlike the dark thin bills of most bulbuls. Often seen perched on telephone wires, treetops, and rooftops. Forages methodically in lowland and foothill forests, gardens, and brushlands (below 1500 m). Regularly gathers in flocks, but not a common component of mixed-species flocks. Song a series of three-syllabled warbles; calls include rising “chirrup” and series of “whit” notes.
Purple-throated Woodstar
Philodice mitchellii
Woodstars are tiny hummingbirds that fly like bumblebees. Purple-throated is restricted to the west slope of the Andes in Colombia and Ecuador, where it inhabits cloud forest, edges, and second growth from 800–2,000 m. Males have a glittering purple throat, white chest band, fairly long forked tail, and white patches on the sides of the rump. Unlikely to be confused within range. Females are trickier; note the orangey belly with a variable amount of smudgy white in the center (never as extensive as on female White-bellied Woodstar) and the thin whitish line that extends behind the eye and wraps around the neck (not as wide or buffy as on Little Woodstar). Often seen singly feeding in the canopy; visits feeders.
Solitary Sandpiper
Tringa solitaria
Medium-sized shorebird. Gray above and white below, with fine white speckling on wings and bold white spectacles. Note dark underwing and dark rump in flight. Smaller and shorter-legged than Lesser Yellowlegs, with duller greenish legs. Often alone, but multiple individuals may gather loosely in appropriate habitat. Tips body like Spotted Sandpiper, but less constantly and not as quick and dramatic. Breeds around ponds and marshes in the boreal forest; uses old songbird nests in trees, unlike most other shorebirds. In migration and winter, mostly seen on small bodies of water like muddy ponds, lake edges, and slow-moving streams. Extensive winter range throughout Central and South America. Listen for piercing, high-pitched “tsee-weet!” call.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.