Black-browed Albatross

Medium-sized spinetail found in light woodland, savanna, grassland, and forest edges. Note the gray-brown body contrasting with a rufous crown and wing coverts, and a black throat. Best detected and identified by its song, which is a rapid series of “wit- dje-dje-dje” notes repeated for long periods.

A small to medium-sized bird of lowland and foothill forest interior. Slate-gray above with white spots in the wing, white below, black face and silver-gray bill. Undertail is white with a black band in the base and thin black line at the tip. Forages actively at all levels. Unique plumage. Hooded monarch also has a white belly but lacks the gray back and spots in the wing. Voice, high-pitch whistles or nasal, buzzy calls.

Long known to ornithologists as something different (and informally called “Millpo Tapaculo”), this bird was finally described as a new species in 2020. It inhabits grassy, rock-strewn areas above tree line at high elevations in the eastern Andes of central Peru. Plumage is mainly gray with tan rear parts that are faintly barred, and it sometimes shows a faint, whitish eyebrow; female is browner than male. Similar in appearance to several other tapaculos, and best identified by range and voice. Song, often given from atop a rock, is a seemingly endless series of raspy chip notes.