Buffy Laughingthrush

Pterorhinus berthemyi

Bright rufous laughingthrush with a gray belly and bright blue facial skin patch. Restricted to primary montane forest but will occasionally move downslope in winter. Can be quite tame and confiding, hopping around human settlements and foraging around trash bins and garbage piles in small flocks. Loud and vocal, giving a range of different churring, chucking, and whistling calls while foraging.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Pterorhinus berthemyi
Authority
(Oustalet, 1876)
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Leiothrichidae
Genus
Pterorhinus

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
declining

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Tepui Vireo

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.

Reed Cormorant

Reed Cormorant

Microcarbo africanus

A small, speckle-backed cormorant that is common and widespread in fresh water. The adult is blackish with a short black crest above the bill. Immatures are brownish with paler underparts. Although they share the same habitat with Great Cormorant, Long-tailed Cormorants can be separated by their much smaller size, red eyes, and proportionately longer tails. Generally, Long-tailed Cormorant avoids the marine habitats of the similar-looking Crowned Cormorant, which has a larger crest, an unspeckled back, and a shorter tail.

Brown-backed Mockingbird

Brown-backed Mockingbird

Mimus dorsalis

Handsome mockingbird found in scrubby areas in the high Andes. It has rich brown upperparts, mostly white underparts, and a white eyebrow. The brilliant white wing stripes and outer tail feathers flash conspicuously in flight, and help to separate it from the relatively plain Patagonian Mockingbird. Similar to White-banded Mockingbird, but tends to be browner (less gray) on the back and crown, has smaller white wing stripes, and is normally found at much higher elevations. It has a huge vocal repertoire ranging from shrill whistles to harsh churrs and metallic trills.

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