Malayan Black-capped Babbler

Brightly-colored warbler with a contrasting face pattern with dark cheeks and crown surrounded by bright yellow. Also shows olive back, bold white wingbars, and yellow on the breast. Intensity of color varies with age and sex; adult males are brightest, with black throat, while immatures are more washed out with a pale yellowish throat. Breeds in mature coniferous forests in northwestern North America. Winters from the Pacific coast of the U.S. to Costa Rica, with large numbers especially in the highlands of Mexico and Guatemala. Usually stays in the canopy. Sometimes gathers in large mixed flocks with other warblers and small songbirds, especially on the wintering grounds. Compare with plainer-faced Hermit Warbler, and beware that hybrids occur. Also similar to Black-throated Green Warbler, which overlaps in range most often on the wintering grounds; note Townsend’s darker cheeks and more extensive yellow on breast.

Well-attired small songbird typically associated with mid- to high-elevation farms, fields, and open forests throughout its range. Found in less intensively developed areas than House and Eurasian Tree Sparrows, sticking to villages and pastures and staying away from large city centers. Male has bright chestnut cap and back, whitish cheek, narrow black throat, and pale gray belly. Female brownish with broad streaks above, pale below, with white wingbars and broad tan supercilium.

Small bird of open arid shrubland and grasslands. Pale brown above, whitish below, with distinct pale supercilium, faint chest streaking, and long, cocked tail. Forages quietly on the ground or in thick vegetation, where difficult to see. Most easily observed when males sing in spring, as they perch up in the vegetation. Similar to Western Fieldwren but no range overlap. Compare Shy Heathwren, which has a white wing spot and darker legs.