Visayan Tailorbird

A large gray cuckooshrike with a strong, hooked bill. Upperparts are mostly gray with black primaries; male darker than female. Note pale patch on back and white tail tips when bird is in flight. Male is gray with a lightly barred white belly. Female has denser barring that transitions to a white lower belly and undertail. Both sexes have a dark patch from the bill to slightly behind the eye, giving a masked impression. Juvenile is brownish, heavily scaled with whitish-buff, and mottled on the underparts. Immature has broader white edges to wing feathers. Vocal. Often gives a two-noted, rather nasal “gii-yaak,” uttered in flight as well as from a perch; also gives scratchy squeal calls. Inhabits lightly wooded country, avoiding wet forests.

Massive seabird of warm tropical oceans and coastlines. Overall black with extremely long, deeply forked tail and angular wings. Male completely black with inflatable red pouch on throat (not seen away from breeding colonies) and bluish eyering. In good light, black coloration can show purplish sheen. Adult female has white chest and golden bar on shoulder. Young birds have white head and breast. Often soars for long periods and flies with slow wingbeats. Steals food from other seabirds. Surprisingly acrobatic during aerial chases despite its large size. Limited range overlap with Great Frigatebird (mainly offshore western Mexico and in the Galapagos); identification is complicated by age and sex variation. Adult males are extremely similar; females and immatures best identified by exact pattern of white on head and breast, bill color, and eyering color.

Bright pale-green parrot with a red shoulder patch; note blue rump in flight. Male has black back. Occurs in a wide variety of habitats where it feeds primarily in trees. Flight style recalls a large pigeon.