Yellow-margined Flatbill
Tolmomyias assimilis
Small flycatcher most often seen high in rainforest canopy, often with mixed species flocks. Its bill is very wide at the base and wing feathers are conspicuously edged with yellow. Confusingly similar to several other species. Dark eye helps to separate it from Gray-crowned Flycatcher, and usually shows brighter wings with less well defined wingbars than Yellow-olive Flycatcher. Whitish (not yellow) throat distinguishes it from Olive-faced Flycatcher and Ochre-lored Flycatcher. Voice is often the best clue. Yellow-margined Flycatcher gives a rising series of clear or buzzy whistles. Song has a very nasal quality in some parts of its range. Birds found west and north of the Andes are now considered a separate species, Yellow-winged Flycatcher.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Tolmomyias assimilis
- Authority
- (Pelzeln, 1868)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tyrannidae
- Genus
- Tolmomyias
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Ash-colored Cuckoo
Coccycua cinerea
Nondescript and retiring cuckoo with a pale ashy-brown back and pale underparts. Note the thin white tail tips and red eyering and iris. An austral migrant. Usually found in dry woodlands, scrub, savannas, gallery forests, and also in the borders of humid moist forests in the nonbreeding season. The song is a series of “cow-w cow-w cow cow” notes.
Dusky-blue Flycatcher
Bradornis comitatus
A dapper slate-colored flycatcher with a distinctly pale throat and eyebrow, often found at the forest’s edge along roads, in clearings, and even in farmlands. A widespread but sometimes overlooked resident, sometimes occurring up into the mountains, that builds its own nest inside old abandoned weaver nests. Can be confused with other African flycatchers, but note Dusky-blue Flycatcher’s upright posture, habitat, and pale throat and lores. Song is variable, consisting of clear whistles and other calls given in groups of 2-10 notes. Calls include high-pitched “sip sip” and buzzy “zrt” notes.
Goliath Heron
Ardea goliath
This enormous heron stands 1.5 meters tall and has a robust, dagger-like bill. The immature has rustier upperwings than the adult. Its flight is ponderous and labored. Goliath Heron inhabits large rivers, marshes, estuaries, and mangroves, hunting for large fish and other animals, stabbing them with an open bill. It has a distinct, barking “kowoork” call that can be heard from up to 2 km away. Purple Heron has similar plumage, but Goliath Heron is twice the size, has a much larger bill, and has a rufous (not blackish) top of the head.
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