Sooty Barbet

Endemic to Great and Little Nicobar Islands, where it inhabits lush forests. A jewel of a bird, with an emerald-green body, black head, scarlet lower belly, and chestnut crown. Like other pittas, forages on the forest floor, where it can be difficult to see. Listen for its song, a series of three to four barking notes. Formerly grouped together with several other closely related species as “Hooded Pitta.”

Large hummingbird of humid forests and semi-open habitats in Amazonia. Plain gray below and iridescent green above. Note large dark tail with white tips; also look for fairly heavy, slightly dropped bill and white spot behind eye. Occurs mostly in forest clearings or other semi-open habitats such as edges, tree fall gaps, and gardens. Forages at low- to mid-levels.

A large, spectacular, slender, carmine-pink-and-teal-blue bee-eater with a long pointed tail, black bill, and black facial mask. The immature is duller and shorter-tailed. It gathers in large groups that often attend bush fires, and it specializes in catching large flying insects, including dragonflies, butterflies, and locusts. Breeds colonially by burrowing into sandbanks. It has a complex three-stage migration; it generally breeds between 13–20°S from August–September, disperses south of the breeding area December–March, and then moves north of the breeding area April–August. “Trik-trik-trik” calls are more guttural than those of European Bee-eater. Similar Northern Carmine Bee-eater has a teal-colored (not carmine) chin and throat.