Black-throated Wattle-eye
Platysteira peltata
Small black-and-white bird with a patch of bright red bare skin above the eye. Females have a black hood, and males a white throat and black breast band. Found in forest, thick woodland, and mangroves. Generally local and uncommon. The unmusical song is usually given as a duet: a mix of low-pitched rasping notes and higher bleating notes. Similar to Brown-throated Wattle-eye but never shows white in the wing, and the female has a black rather than brown throat. Separated from batises by the red wattle and lack of white in the wing.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Platysteira peltata
- Authority
- Sundevall, 1850
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Platysteiridae
- Genus
- Platysteira
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Rufous-winged Sparrow
Peucaea carpalis
Subtly marked sparrow with a poor name; "rufous wing" is restricted to a tiny, barely visible patch on the shoulder. Gray head and neck with peaked rufous crown and rufous eyeline. Stout pink bill. Sides are buff and unstreaked on adults. Back and wings are also buffy with fine markings. Paler throat is edged with thin dark lines. Primarily a Mexican species with very limited range in the U.S.; found in pairs or small flocks in brushy grasslands. Variable song usually composed of a few clear tinkling notes and trills.
Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe
Attagis gayi
Chunky, generally uncommon, rather grouselike bird of the high Andes. Found in pairs or small groups on bogs, stony slopes, and in bleak moorland of puna and páramo zones. Lacey “chainmail” pattern to upperparts is beautifully cryptic, and birds sometimes freeze when alarmed making them more difficult to see. No similar species in range; note the short stout bill and rusty underparts. Flight strong and fast, and flushes with loud shrieking choruses.
White-rumped Vulture
Gyps bengalensis
A medium-sized vulture with a silvery bill, a dark body, a grayish shine on the wings, a white back, and a distinctive white collar on the neck. In flight, the adult appears dark with a strikingly large white slab running across the underside of the wing. The juvenile is dark brown with fine pale streaks; it has a dark collar, pale feathers on the head, a dark bill, and no white on the back or underwing. Found in open areas and around habitation.
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