Sombre Kingfisher

A large white waterbird with a hefty bill and a yellow-orange throat pouch. Note the pink bare skin around eye that extends towards the bill. Young birds have browner overall plumage relative to adults with brown upper wings and a brown head. Legs are pink. In flight shows dark flight feathers which contrast with the rest of the wing. Often seen fishing cooperatively, swimming in a wide arc to round up the fish and then scoop them into their pouch.

Large dark-backed gull. Few similar species in much of its range. Usually coastal. Adults have black backs and wings with very little white in the flight feathers. The bill is very strong and robust and the legs are greenish-yellow. Juveniles have a dark brown back mottled with white, a black bill, and a dark band on the tail.

Subtly beautiful wren found in picturesque canyonlands and rocky outcroppings of the western U.S. and Mexico. Exceptional songster most often located by rich cascading song, or harsh call notes. Rich orangey-brown body with tiny black-and-white spots, bright white throat, and thin decurved bill. Most similar to Rock Wren; note more contrasting white throat. Almost always on the ground or cliffs, running up and down rocks, repeatedly disappearing from view only to suddenly pop up atop a lookout. Feeds on insects. Nests in crevice or under ledge on cliff.