Green-faced Parrotfinch

Not the only blue nuthatch, but the bluest nuthatch. Unmistakable, with a dark head, pale eyering, white throat and breast, and dark-lined pale blue feathers on the wings. Gives quick, sharp, nasal “tzwp” or “tzwit” notes. Clambers up and down tree trunks, often in small parties; frequent member of mixed-species foraging flocks. Favors montane and hilly forests. 

A small, slender-billed, mostly slate-gray cuckooshrike that shows extensive pale edgings on the wing feathers. Male has a black face and throat, while on females, black is limited to the area between the bill and eye. Singles, pairs, or groups can be found in wooded areas, plantations, and scrub from sea level to foothills. Confined to the Sula Islands. Smaller and more slender-billed than Slaty and Black-faced Cuckooshrikes. Male is darker overall than Black-faced Cuckooshrike, with no white tail tip and a less distinct black face mask, and black does not extend onto breast. Gives an upslurred nasal “whirrt” as well as “pik” notes.

A bizarre and unique shorebird. Medium-sized with fairly short, slightly drooped bill. Leg color varies from dull greenish to bright orange; bill can be entirely dark or mostly orange. Plumage highly variable, especially breeding males, which have fancy neck ruffs that can be black, white, buffy, reddish-brown, or any combination thereof. Females and nonbreeding birds can be confusing, usually plain grayish-brown overall, sometimes with blotchy markings on the neck and belly. Juveniles are bright buffy with neat scaly patterning on the upperparts. Flight often rather lazy, with deep floppy wingbeats; note white underwings, white sides to rump, and feet projecting well past tail. Males are much larger than females. Breeds in bogs and wet grassy meadows across northern Eurasia; winters mainly in Africa but also across India and Southeast Asia. Migrants occur in almost any wetland habitat, from reservoirs and fields to coastal mudflats. Feeds by probing and picking, often while in shallow water. Rare but regular vagrant to North America, usually single birds found among flocks of yellowlegs.