Santa Cruz Fantail

Medium-sized woodpecker endemic to northern Colombia. Strikingly patterned: black above and buffy below with bright red crown, yellow nape, black mask, barred flanks, and a white stripe down the back. Found in dry woodlands and edges, usually in pairs. Compare with Black-cheeked Woodpecker, which lacks a yellow nape and has white spots on the wings.

Tiny, ornately patterned hummingbird with a bold pale rump band. Exquisite adult male plumage features a bushy orange crest and long orange plumes tipped dark green, sweeping back from the cheeks over the shoulders, and set off by a white rump band and stout orange bill tipped black. Female lacks such adornment and is greenish above and whitish below, with a contrasting tawny throat, buffy rump band, and duller bill. Occurs in a wide range of humid forest types from lowland rainforest to premontane forest in the tepui region. Feeds on nectar and is most likely to be seen at flowering trees, where it forages unobtrusively, sneaking nectar from the territories of other hummingbirds. More common and widespread than other coquettes in range. Female Tufted is best told by tawny throat and overall plain appearance.

A large, heavy-billed loon. Common and widespread in North America; somewhat less common and more local in Europe. Breeding adults have gorgeous black-and-white patterning; especially note fully black head with iridescent sheen and boldly checkered back. Nonbreeding plumage is plainer gray above and white below; note the jagged border between gray and white on the neck. Heavy bill is usually held straight (compare with Yellow-billed Loon). Breeds on lakes and ponds in the boreal forest. Listen for their haunting, yodeling vocalizations. In winter, mostly found on nearshore ocean waters and sheltered bays, singly or in loose flocks.