Tropical Shearwater

A dumpy dark brown chat with an upright posture. It flies fast on short round wings, exposing bold white patches in the outer webs of the primary feathers that are diagnostic. Pairs and small groups occupy open grassy country, especially near dense collections of termite mounds. It sits on fences, rocks, or other perches and drops to the ground to pursue ants, termites, and other invertebrates to feed on. The song is a varied collection of whistles, clucks, and grating notes, including imitations of other species, while the call is a characteristic one-note high-pitched plaintive “peek.” No similar chats occur in the same range; the white wing patches of Southern Anteater-Chat are highly distinctive.

Lives only on Coiba Island off the Pacific coast of Panama, where identification should not be an issue. Look for rusty upperparts and tail, buffy underparts, and pale buffy eyebrow. Occurs in wooded areas with dense vine tangles and thickets, often in pairs. Listen for excited sputtering chatters.

A small, sparrow-like canary with different-looking males and females. The male is chestnut, white, and black, with the black continuous from the nape to the spurs on the breast in the Black-headed group, and with the black areas mixed with white in the Damara group. The female has a uniform gray-brown head and a chestnut back and tail. In the breeding season the species occurs in pairs and small groups, but during the non-breeding season it may gather in flocks of up to 200 and may mix with other species. It is resident but nomadic throughout arid scrub, following rain and seeding events.