Peruvian Sierra Finch

Small becard occurring from Venezuela to Peru, mainly on the east slope of the Andes, and disjunctly in Costa Rica and Panama. Mostly found in foothills, in middle to upper levels of humid montane forest. Male is mostly gray with bold white edges on the wing feathers and a black cap with pale spectacles. Compare with White-winged Becard, which has a black back and dark lores. Female is very different; look for her brown cap bordered with black, white spectacles, pale yellowish belly, and tawny edges on wing feathers. Extremely similar to Cryptic Becard, with potential range overlap on the east slope of the Andes in Ecuador and Peru. Male Black-and-white shows a broader upper wingbar, darker lores, a blacker upperside of the tail, and stouter bill than Cryptic. Female Black-and-white has a brighter rufous crown with a broader black border. These features may all be difficult or impossible to assess in the field; some birds are best left unidentified. Also note voice: song a slow series of one or several sweet downslurred whistles followed by an upslurred whistle, often repeated two or three times. Cryptic’s song is faster, with shorter notes.

Tiny rotund, short-tailed bird, scarcely larger than a sparrow; like a diminutive partridge or quail but only distantly related. Brown with scaly streaking above, extensive black barring on the chest (more extensive on the female), and rich tawny flanks. Extremely difficult to detect, moving about invisibly in dense weedy vegetation in fields, forest edges, and farmland. Flying birds have whirring flight, show contrast between dark flight feathers and paler coverts. Courting females give sonorous, booming calls from dense vegetation.

Slender, long-tailed antbird restricted to the lower slopes of Colombia’s Santa Marta Mountains. It is heavily streaked on the head, breast, and back and has a tawny belly and rump. Male has darker and more contrasting streaks than female. No other similar antbird occurs in the Santa Martas. Inhabits stands of bamboo and usually first detected by voice. Typical song is two or more “chup” notes followed by several rasps. Regularly encountered along roadsides below El Dorado Nature Reserve.