Himalayan Cutia

A large, long-tailed, chickenlike, and ground-dwelling bird of scrub and woodlands. Brown overall with a buff-orange vent. Commonly runs from perceived threats but sometimes bursts into rapid short flight. Unique in Caribbean, but in northern South America Chestnut-winged Chachalaca is light underneath and lacks rufous in tail. Produces a variety of vocalizations, including a loud “wuck-a-wuck-wuck” that is given in a crescendo series, a quiet muttered “wuck-wuck-wuck…,” a loud and squeaky shrill call often heard as “yuck” that is produced singly or in a series, and a loud squeaky “zwick,” given singly or in rapid bursts.

Chunky, short-tailed, flat-headed bird patterned in green and black. Male has black head and breast, pale yellow belly with bold dark barring, and mossy green upperparts with bold pale spotting on the wing. Female is similar but has a green head with barring all the way up the throat. On both sexes, note red bill and legs and pale eye varying from orange to gray to whitish. Fairly common in stunted forested habitats in the upper subtropical and temperate zone in the Andes. Sluggish; perches quietly in the middle levels of the forest, sometimes following a mixed-species flock. May be seen singly or in pairs, but several can gather around a fruiting tree. Listen for super high-pitched calls.

Only on Cozumel Island, Mexico, where it is usually the most frequently encountered hummingbird. Feeds low to high on a variety of flowers, preferring forest edge, gardens, and other semi-open habitats. Male is stunning, emerald-green with a long, deeply forked tail. Female has distinctive broad dark facemask, rather long forked tail. No similar species on the island (Canivet’s Emerald occurs on the Yucatan mainland).