Gray-capped Pygmy Woodpecker

This drab tanager-like sparrow is common and noisy in its limited range, often parading around in rambunctious flocks. Sexes are similar: olive above and gray below with a stout bill and reddish or pale eyes. Lack of yellow anywhere on the underparts helps separate it from other chlorospingus. Occurs in cloud forest and edges from around 700–2200 m. Small groups typically move through the understory and middle levels, occasionally straying into the canopy. Frequently follows mixed-species flocks. Listen for its piercing squeaks and chips, sometimes accelerating into a messy chatter.

Long-tailed with long, slender bill that is sharply downcurved. Drab grayish-brown without any markings. Paler on throat; warmer orangey color on belly. Often hard to see when lurking in dense shrubs. Sings from prominent perches. Song is seemingly endless and complex. Forages primarily on the ground. Range restricted to dense brush and woodland in California and Baja California.

Fairly active, medium-sized woodcreeper of pine, pine-oak, and evergreen forest in highlands. Usually found in ones or twos, often traveling with mixed-species feeding flocks of tanagers, orioles, warblers, and others. Creeps up trunks and smaller branches, often poking into epiphytes. Note the slender, slightly curved bill, fine creamy dots on the crown, and creamy streaking on underparts. Calls are thin, reedy whistles, given infrequently.