Bay Coucal

Endemic to Puerto Rico. A brilliantly colored, tiny, and active species of dense woodlands where it feeds at middle to upper levels, primarily on mistletoe berries. Sometimes joins mixed flocks. Easy to miss despite bright colors and flitting movements. Note small size, short tail, and small (though rather thick) bill. Male has a blue helmet, yellow underparts (including the throat), and a dark mask. Female is olive-green overall; note distinctive blue helmet and small yellowish forehead patch. Calls include a lively “beep” given singly or in series, a rapid “whip-ip,” a rough “djip,” and a plaintive “wheee.” Song is a rapid jumble of tinkling, squeaky, and whistled notes.

A small but strong-billed cisticola that is rich gray-brown on the back and pale below. The back is plain in breeding plumage and heavily streaked in the non-breeding season. Note the black band and pale tips across the end of the tail. Found locally in savanna and dry woodland. Very similar to Dorst’s Cisticola, and best distinguished by song, but has a brighter rufous cap and whiter underparts. Also similar to Foxy and Rufous Cisticolas, but larger, with a rufous cap that contrasts with the gray-brown back. Perches up to sing a brief squeaky warbled phrase, thin and high-pitched.

Smaller than all the gulls, with thinner and more pointed bill. Distinguished from other terns by pale whitish wings and orange-based bill in summer, and isolated black ear patch in winter. Forages by circling and hovering over bays, ponds, and lakes, then dropping to snatch fish. Often rests on sandbars, piers, and other structures with other gull and tern species. Snappy, quick wingbeats and acrobatic in flight.