Lord Howe Rail

A graceful aerial feeder found over a wide variety of open habitats, especially near water, including marshes and towns. Often seen on exposed perches including power and telephone lines in villages. Commonly found in flocks of up to twenty birds, sometimes mixing with other swallows and martins. Note the male’s diagnostic glossy purple-blue plumage and snow-white belly. Females and immatures are similarly patterned, but have brown mixed with the blue and are probably not safely separable from Cuban Martin. Female and immature Purple Martins are very similar, but they often have a scaly breast and finely streaked belly, with less contrast between belly and chest. Notably, Cuban and Purple Martins are not present in this species’ range from March to September. Calls include a harsh “churr,” a buzzy “zwick-zwick,” and a musical buzzy burbling.

Tiny charismatic hummingbird. Note the male’s white cheeks tufts with green spots. Females have a rusty throat bordered below by a white-spotted green band. Probably rare but certainly difficult to find at the edge of humid forests and more wooded savannas. Males of other coquettes within its range have different cheek tuft patterns, while females don't have the rusty throat.

This stunning little bird is quite common in cloud forest in the subtropical and temperate zones in the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia. It is bright rufous above with a white eyebrow and throat and bold white spotting on underparts. Could be confused with Montane Woodcreeper, but note much shorter bill. Singles or pairs forage with mixed-species flocks, usually hitching along mossy branches in the middle to upper levels of forest. Occurs from around 2,000–3,500 m.