Blackish Tapaculo

Plainest swallow in North America. Plain brown above with indistinct brown wash across throat and breast. Wings are relatively broad; tail is short and square (or slightly notched). Juveniles have rusty wingbars. “Ridgway’s” subspecies, mainly found on the Yucatan peninsula, is larger and lankier, almost recalling a martin. Look for the deeper notch in the tail and dark-tipped undertail coverts. Often seen near water, sometimes in mixed flocks with other swallows. Breeds in holes and crevices, often along riverbanks or under a bridge. Not a colonial nester like Bank Swallow. Call is a low, grating buzz that rises slightly in pitch. Compare with Bank Swallow, which has a contrasting dark chest band. Also very similar to Southern Rough-winged Swallow, which overlaps in Central America. Southern Rough-winged has a brighter tawny throat and paler rump.

Boldly patterned black-and-red bushshrike with pale eyes. The immature has pale underparts with fine dark bars. Found in thick woodland, lush scrub, and overgrown cultivation, where it usually skulks in the undergrowth. The male gives a rising, whistled “wheeo-eo,” and the female a low ratcheting call. These two are often given in a perfectly synchronized duet. Similar to Papyrus and Yellow-crowned Gonoleks, but has an all-black rather than yellow crown.

A small, distinctively proportioned shearwater with a comparatively long-necked, long-tailed, round-winged appearance. Entirely dark plumage contrasts with variably white bars on the underside of remarkably short, stubby wings. Long thin bill is often obvious, as is this species’ habit of flying with its head raised above its body. Pale morph is paler below and overall lighter brown, but retains odd proportions. The dark morph of Wedge-tailed Shearwater is somewhat similar, but much larger and longer-tailed. Black Noddy is similar in size, but has a more buoyant, bouncy tern-like flight. Christmas Shearwater is most similar, but has a proportionally shorter bill and tail. Short-tailed and Sooty Shearwaters are similar in plumage, but their toes project beyond their tail, unlike in Heinroth’s Shearwater.