Buff-breasted Mountain Tanager

Large woodpecker endemic to the deep thorn forest of the Chaco of western Paraguay, SE Bolivia, and N Argentina. Similar to Lineated Woodpecker, but note all black underparts and pale auriculars on Black-bodied. From Cream-backed Woodpecker by darker bill, black back, and long drum. Calls a rising, nasal “kwee?” note given in a long repetitive series. Drum long, quick, and accelerating, but tends to be shorter than the drum of Lineated.

One of the most common and widespread warblers; often the core member of mixed warbler flocks during migration, especially early in spring and late in fall. Two main populations: “Audubon’s” breeds mainly in the mountains of the western U.S. and into British Columbia; “Myrtle” breeds from the eastern U.S. across Canada to Alaska. All plumages show a bright yellow rump and yellow on the sides. Most “Audubon’s” have a yellow throat, but dull immature females can be off-white. “Myrtle” Warblers have a white throat that wraps around below the cheek. Both subspecies breed in coniferous or mixed forests, often near clearings or edges. In migration and winter, found in any woodland or open shrubby area, including coastal dunes, fields, parks, and residential areas. Often sallies out from a conspicuous perch to snatch insects. Also eats berries in the winter. Calls frequently: a flat “check” (Myrtle) or rising “chit” (Audubon’s). Another distinctive sedentary population, surely a separate species, occurs very locally in the highlands of Guatemala: Goldman’s Warbler. Males are strikingly black overall, and show a mostly yellow throat with white corners.

Garish medium-sized laughingthrush-like bird. Olive overall with a bright red face and wing panels. Note pale eyes. Furtive and shy, typically foraging in dense undergrowth, often in mixed flocks, but also often singly or in pairs. Favors dense hill forest. Song is a repeated “chew-chew-weee?-chew”; gives dry rattling calls.