Rock Pratincole

A long-tailed pigeon with striking plumage contrast. Dark gray on the back and wings with an entirely white underside and tail. Dark back feathers intricately scalloped with black edges. Found singly or in small groups in forest. Often seen flying above the canopy. Combination of pale yellow bill and striking contrast separates this species from other pigeons. Rarely vocal, but has occasionally been heard giving a nasal wheezing call.

One of the Holy Grails of Andean birding, this distinctive green-and-yellow species is slightly larger than a becard. Note scaled sides and breast, a long hooked bill, and large eyes. Males have a black cap with olive-green cheeks and back and bright yellow underparts. Females have a less distinct black cap and more dark scaling on the underparts. Very rare, local, and infrequently seen, with records on the east slope of the Andes from western Venezuela to Bolivia. Found in humid foothill forests where it can be seen foraging from the understory all the way to the subcanopy. The song is a very thin, high-pitched “psieeeehh,” repeated regularly.

A bunting with cinnamon underparts, black-and-brown mottled upperparts, and a black-and-orange bill. The male’s head is boldly striped black-and-white, while the female’s head is less contrasting, with gray and buff stripes. Pairs prefer rocky outcrops, quarries, and gullies in arid and moist savanna and semi-desert, favoring open ground. The species is often detected by its grating song. The similar Gosling’s Bunting differs from Cinnamon-breasted Bunting by having a gray (not black) throat; birds in northern Ethiopia/Eritrea may be part of a hybrid swarm. House Bunting has a streaked (not solid) throat and breast.