Madagascar Partridge

Active little bird with a long, slightly decurved bill. Olive back, lemon-yellow underparts, and faint gray-and-white facial pattern. Active in the lower levels of secondary forest, forest edge, plantations, and gardens. Despite its name, also eats insects and nectar from flowers. Gives a wide range of buzzy nasal-sounding calls.

A fairly nondescript thick-billed, sparrow-sized songbird. Upperparts are uniform rich brown and underparts whitish, but particularly note the yellow wash to the lower belly and the base of the undertail. Juvenile has a gray head and rufous-tinged plumage. Restricted to forested foothills and mountains on Sulawesi, where pairs often join mixed-species feeding flocks in the understory and subcanopy. Yellow vent makes this species easily identifiable in its limited range. Song starts with three or four introductory whistles, often on the same pitch, and ends with a powerful upslurred whip note: “wi-wi-wi-WHIYIP.”

This brown-and-white wren has an amazingly loud voice for its size. It inhabits dry forest and scrub in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. Note the barred wings and tail, white throat and face, and dark stripe behind the eye (which is inconspicuous on some birds). Usually stays inside dense tangles, where it can be especially hard to see during the rainy season after the vegetation leafs out. Gives a large variety of far-carrying songs and calls.