Merlin

Medium-sized hummingbird, distinctive within limited range: overall shimmering green with sharply defined white belly. Wings are browner and rump is coppery. Sexes alike. Found around open forest edges and second growth, usually singly.

A large dark weaver with a massive bill. The male is brown with a dark bill and a white dash on the forehead and wing. The female has a pale bill and is heavily streaked underneath. Pairs are resident, breeding in wetlands and rank areas adjacent to well wooded groves and forest; flocks form in the non-breeding season. The species feeds on fruit and insects in the canopy and on the forest floor. The song is a rapid high-pitched warble that includes multiple sputtering trills, for example “pit-pit-pit-pit chweeer-kuuuurrrr”.

Large motmot of lowland forest and edges from eastern Panama to northwestern South America. Green above and warm rufous below, with a black mask bordered by a dazzling cerulean crown. The crown is not solidly blue, but instead has a circular black patch in the middle as if it’s wearing a yarmulke. Like most other motmots, has conspicuous tail racquets. In typical motmot fashion, perches quietly for long periods of time anywhere from the understory to the canopy, occasionally flicking its tail side to side. Gives a low single “whoop” call.