Chestnut-breasted Chlorophonia

Glossy small black cuckoo with a forked tail. Juvenile has a galaxy-like smattering of white spots all over the body. Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo has a less prominently-forked tail; note less difference in length of outermost tail feathers. Adults may be confused with drongos, but are lighter-billed and smaller, with distinctly white-barred undertail. Widespread, found in forests and scrubby plains from lowlands up into foothills and mountainous areas, but much more often heard than seen, typically sitting still in the middle and upper levels of forest; song is an extremely loud ascending series of whistles. Lays its eggs in the nests of babblers, bulbuls, and shrikes.

Rare and endangered hummingbird found in the Andes of southwestern Colombia. Accessing its tiny known range is difficult, and only a few intrepid and lucky birders have seen one. Male looks quite dark, but has a glittering blue throat bordered on both sides by iridescent green as well as white leg puffs and a blue vent. Female is mostly green with a buffy tinge to the underparts, faint whisker marks, and smaller leg puffs; she is similar to female Glowing Puffleg, but typically has a fainter throat patch and less buff on the neck. Inhabits stunted cloud forest at high elevations.

One of a confusingly similar complex of species, this medium-sized warbler has a bright yellow eye-ring, a pale and indistinct wingbar, and a grayish crown bordered by two long black stripes. The weakness and greenish cast of the gray crown separates this species from various other “golden-spectacled”-type warblers, such as Gray-crowned. Golden-spectacled Warbler is very similar; in Whistler’s, look out for an unbroken eye-ring, a shorter bill, a longer tail, and slightly duller green upperparts. Whistler’s breeds in high-altitude temperate broadleaf forest from around 2000 meters up to the treeline; averages higher in altitudinal breeding preferences than Golden-spectacled Warbler. Like other “golden-spectacled”-type warblers, Whistler’s typically forages at lower and middle levels of forest, often mixing with other species and making flycatching sallies. Song consists of a 2- or 3-noted whistled phrase repeated 2-3 times without pause, lacking the trills of Golden-spectacled Warbler.