Forest Honeyeater

A small, pale-bellied sunbird. The male has iridescent blue-green upperparts and head, with a bold white belly and broad purplish breast band. The female is very clean, gray-brown above and pale gray underneath, without any markings. Singles, pairs, and small groups occupy savanna, broadleaf woodland, and parkland, foraging for insects and nectar. The song is a canary-like warble and the call is a strained, 2-5 note “cheet-cheet….” Oustalet’s Sunbird differs by having a shorter bill and darker throat, a broader maroon breast band, a blue (not green) upper tail, and orange (not yellow) pectoral tufts.

Medium-sized shorebird. Gray above and white below, with fine white speckling on wings and bold white spectacles. Note dark underwing and dark rump in flight. Smaller and shorter-legged than Lesser Yellowlegs, with duller greenish legs. Often alone, but multiple individuals may gather loosely in appropriate habitat. Tips body like Spotted Sandpiper, but less constantly and not as quick and dramatic. Breeds around ponds and marshes in the boreal forest; uses old songbird nests in trees, unlike most other shorebirds. In migration and winter, mostly seen on small bodies of water like muddy ponds, lake edges, and slow-moving streams. Extensive winter range throughout Central and South America. Listen for piercing, high-pitched “tsee-weet!” call.

One of the smallest owls in the world, about the size of a sparrow. Patterned with rufous, gray, and white. Most similar in plumage to Flammulated Owl, but note the Elf Owl's white eyebrows, yellow eyes, tiny size, and habitat. Found in brushy woodlands and surrounding desert, where they nest in natural cavities or abandoned woodpecker holes in trees and cacti. Nocturnal; most easily found by listening for call around dusk: a descending whiny chuckle or single mewing note. Migrates south to Mexico for the winter.