Black-throated Apalis

Rusty edges to feathers and pale eyebrow in winter contrast with blackish feather bases. Breeding males are glossy black. Shorter tail than Common Grackle. Thinner bill than Red-winged Blackbird. Found in wooded swamps. Often in flocks; frequently mixes with Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackle in winter. Look for flocks perched at tops of trees bordering marshes and listen for their calls to help pick them out from large flocks of blackbirds.

Fancy-looking, vaguely chicken-like bird of freshwater marshes, lakes, and ponds in tropical lowlands, locally in highlands. Walks with high-stepping gait, often on top of floating vegetation (note its very long toes!). Adult is chestnut overall with black head and neck; immature looks very different, with creamy-white face, neck, and underparts. Bright yellow wings striking in flight, when birds usually give shrieks and other raucous calls. Flies with stiff wingbeats and glides, the long feet trailing out behind.

A shy but loud bird of forests and forest edges that usually stays within cover. Shaped like a greenbul, but has a thicker, more robust bill. Shows grayish underparts, greenish upperparts, yellow spots on the tips of the flight feathers and upperwing coverts, a yellow throat, and yellow lores. Similar to the larger Western Nicator, but note Yellow-throated’s smaller size, yellow throat and lores, and distinctive song, which often betrays its presence: a sputtering series of notes that can be surprisingly resonant and loud, a “p-p-p-po-keer-ko-wheeeer-pop” and other variations. Call is a growling trill, “prrrrrr.”