Katanga Masked-Weaver

A striking long-tailed flycatcher. Male is gleaming white below and black above with a bold white shoulder patch. Female is reddish-brown above with a conspicuous white eyebrow and a whitish underside. Singles and pairs occupy the canopy of forest, woodland, and savanna within lowlands and hills. Confined to Timor, Rote, and Semau islands. Both sexes differ from Pied Bushchat in being whitish below and significantly longer-tailed. Song comprises a sequence of staccato notes: “sweet-cherrrgrrr-wichu.” Also gives a soft, grating “tchuk.”

Widespread but uncommon forest hawk of tropical America. Adults are mostly gray, darker on crown and upperparts, with two pale tail bands and rufous thighs that are often hidden from view. Belly is tinged rufous and faintly barred in the southern part of its range. Immature looks remarkably like a forest-falcon, but note its yellow eye and lack of dark crescent on face. Overlaps with the similar Rufous-thighed Kite in parts of South America. Bicolored Hawk is larger, lacks a vertical stripe on the throat, usually stays inside forest, and almost never soars. Feeds mainly on birds and is generally quiet and elusive. Birds from central and southern Chile as well as adjacent parts of Argentina are now considered a separate species, Chilean Hawk.

A large duck, generally common and familiar within its extensive range. Males are distinctive with iridescent green head, yellow bill, chestnut breast, and gray body. Females are mottled brown with orange and black splotches on the bill. Found anywhere with water, including city parks, backyard creeks, and various wetland habitats. Often in flocks, and frequently mixes with other duck species. In North America, females can be tricky to distinguish from American Black Duck, Mottled Duck, and Mexican Duck where ranges overlap. Those species are all darker-bodied than Mallard. A good view of the wing can be helpful, too: white wingbars on the leading and trailing edges of the blue wing patch are bolder on Mallard. Frequently hybridizes with those species, which can be even more confusing. Any bird with extensive white in the tail or curled feathers above the tail has some Mallard genes.