Purple Indigobird

Geographically variable antwren. Males are gray with a clean black throat patch and white wing spots; females are browner with cream wing spots. Females in the western part of the range have black-and-white mottling on the throat; those in the east have unmarked throats. In some populations, both sexes have a reddish patch on the back. Occupies dense viny habitats and forages in the under- and midstory; in areas with bamboo, often largely restricted to bamboo patches. Song is a quick descending series of high, sharp notes.

A cute, dumpy, colorful flycatcher-like bird that flits around in the mid-canopy and understory of forest, forest edge, plantations, and gardens. Males have a broad black chest band, yellow-orange eye, white stripe through the top of the wing, and white throat. Females have an orange eye, buff-and-white stripe through the top of the wing, and rufous chin patch. The song is a series of 8-9 plaintive steady piping “peooop” notes, and calls include buzzing grating “ddrz-drrzt-drrr, ddt-ddzt-drzt-drr”. Female Dark Batis is distinguished by its darker (rich rufous rather than white and buff) wing stripe. Male Dark Batis is very similar, but has a slightly longer tail and broader black breast stripe. Also similar to Chinspot Batis, but has darker orange color to the eyes, and female Malawi Batis shows paler rufous on the throat and buff tinges to the wing stripe.

Small, green toucan found only in remote regions along the east slope of the Andes in northern Peru. Most of its cloud forest habitat is currently inaccessible without a serious expedition, so few birders have ever encountered this rare species. Plumage is mostly green with a red rump and tail tip, a white throat, anda blue breast-band. Distinguished from Blue-banded Toucanet by the yellow (not white) streak above the eye and the vertical white stripe at the base of the bill. Mostly black bill and blue breast-band help separate it from Southern Emerald-Toucanet and Chestnut-tipped Toucanet.