White-browed Bush-Robin

A dark flycatcher of denser montane forest. Dingy brown above with a rufous wash to wings, rump, and tail. Dark gray throat and breast, whitish belly, and a buff base to the undertail. Singles and pairs are inconspicuous in the undergrowth and midstory, often joining mixed-species flocks. Separated from Asian Brown Flycatcher by larger size, entirely dark bill, duller underside, and lack of a white throat. Sings a jumbled, high-pitched warbling: “tiritirtir-tu…”

No similar species in its Andean range. Fairly common in open puna and páramo habitats; often near bogs in south of its range and in trees around timberline in north of its range. Mainly feeds on the ground. Nests in cavities in dirt bluffs, walls of old buildings, sometimes in colonies. Note the gray crown and buffy face with a dark whisker (on both sexes, but tipped red on male), big white rump patch, and yellow shafts to wing feathers (mainly visible in flight).

One of a confusingly similar complex of species, this medium-sized warbler has a bright yellow eye-ring, a pale and indistinct wingbar, and a grayish crown bordered by two long black stripes. The weakness and greenish cast of the gray crown separates this species from various other “golden-spectacled”-type warblers, such as Gray-crowned. Golden-spectacled Warbler is very similar; in Whistler’s, look out for an unbroken eye-ring, a shorter bill, a longer tail, and slightly duller green upperparts. Whistler’s breeds in high-altitude temperate broadleaf forest from around 2000 meters up to the treeline; averages higher in altitudinal breeding preferences than Golden-spectacled Warbler. Like other “golden-spectacled”-type warblers, Whistler’s typically forages at lower and middle levels of forest, often mixing with other species and making flycatching sallies. Song consists of a 2- or 3-noted whistled phrase repeated 2-3 times without pause, lacking the trills of Golden-spectacled Warbler.