Tibetan Snowfinch

Very finely-speckled dark-grayish duck with a dark eye and an obvious peaked crown. Beak is strongly curved like a ski-jump. Breeding males have a red base to their bill. Upper-wing is dark, while under-wing is paler gray. When perched, distinguish from Hardhead (which have a pale belly patch). Generally uncommon; found beside inland waterholes and ponds. More reliable inland, but can be common one year and absent the next from any given location.

This distinctive, short-billed hummingbird is an iconic denizen of the high paramo. Both sexes have a dull green body, white throat and v-like collar, and dusky, forked tail. Male’s black face is set off by spiky black-and-white crest and long white beard. Seasonally common and territorial, perching on plants or rocks or foraging in paramo vegetation. Often found in areas with boulders and water. Voice is a high pitch note “peek….peek…peek.” No similar species in range. Endemic to the Andes of Venezuela.

In flight, note compact shape, pointed tail, and bounding flight with jerky wingbeats. Yellow wing patch can be hard to see when perched, but note small size, stocky proportions, mostly green plumage,and pale bill. Found in lowland rainforest; usually flying high above the forest canopy. Feeds in the canopy on flowers and fruit. Distinctive grating call is almost always heard before these birds are seen.