Steel-blue Whydah

Impressive hummingbird found in stunted cloud forest along the east slope of the Andes in southeastern Ecuador and northern Peru. Adult male is entirely dark blue and has a moderately long tail. Immature male has some green mixed into the blue plumage, and may have a buffy collar. Female is mostly green with a buffy or whitish collar, belly, and throat. Her tail is blue and shorter than male’s. This species is very localized, and prefers shorter forest and scrub near ridgelines.

A nest parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of pytilias. As with other whydahs, breeding males are spectacular and bizarre, whereas non-breeding males and females are drab and inconspicuous. Breeding males are mostly black, with a rufous collar and a long tail with an odd widened area at its base. Non-breeding males and females have a brownish back, pale underparts, and a reddish bill. Generally scarce and local in broadleaf woodland and lush savanna. Breeding male similar to other paradise-whydahs, but has a longer tail than Sahel Paradise-Whydah, a shorter and thicker-based tail than Togo Paradise-Whydah, and a slightly shorter tail and more rufous collar than Eastern Paradise-Whydah. Non-breeding male and female can be cautiously identified by their combination of a reddish bill, pinkish legs, and simple facial pattern. Not very vocal, but does imitate pytilia vocalizations. 

A mainly gray or grayish brown petrel with a relatively heavy and pronounced forebody and more slender rear. Very pale faced with a relatively small, weak bill and indistinct brownish ‘M’ across back and wings. Highly pelagic, except near colonies. Great-winged Petrel is similar but uniformly brown, not gray, with a darker face. Providence Petrel is very similar but is, on average, less bulky in the forebody, appearing more slender, with a darker face. Providence also has much more contrasting white patches in the outer underwing, which in Murphy’s appear light gray at their palest. Trindade Petrel is somewhat similar, though appears more slender, and is more uniformly brown than the gray hue of Murphy’s Petrel. Silent at sea.