Chestnut Rail

Small hummingbird of desert habitats in southwestern U.S., western Mexico, and Baja. Compact and short-tailed with a slightly drooping bill. Male has a brilliant purple crown and throat that extends down to a point on each side; can appear black in poor lighting. Females are plainer with greenish back and dingy grayish underparts. Note pale eyebrow that wraps around the dark cheek, droopy bill, and dumpy, short-tailed shape to help separate from similar hummingbirds (especially Anna’s and Black-chinned). Wanders from the desert after breeding, visiting more varied habitats including backyards with sugar water feeders. Listen for very high-pitched song.

A pale powder-blue-and-white seabird with a faint grayish dark “M” across the upperwings. Note the dark blue “thumb mark” collar, the blue eye-stripe, the white eyebrow, the white throat, and the grayish cap. Restricted to two known breeding islands, Saint Paul in the South Indian Ocean, and Gough in the South Atlantic. Almost identical to Antarctic Prion, but bulkier and more heavy-chested, with a slightly wider bill. All but inseparable from Salvin’s Prion, with which it shares the breeding island of Gough, and with which it was once considered one species; MacGillivray’s is incrementally broader-billed, but birds seen at sea may not be identifiable.

Fairly common but elusive; heard far more often than seen. Favors native temperate forest and adjacent shrubbery, especially bamboo. Feeds on the ground by scratching with its big feet in leaf litter, and runs very quickly and stealthily. Agitated birds can call loudly from middle level perches, cocking their tail. Nests in burrows, but can nest high up in tree hollows. Plumage distinctive, with pale eyering, dark slaty throat and breast, and rusty belly. No range overlap with Chestnut-throated Huet-huet.