Chestnut-headed Partridge

Strikingly pretty small finch. Males are largely red and covered in white spots with dark wings and tail. Females are gray with a rufous rump. Both sexes have a red beak. Gives a very musical song a high "teei" call. Found in grassy areas close to water and often near human habitation, particularly areas with wet rice paddies.

Active small bird of humid tropical forest. Usually found singly, often moving with mixed-species feeding flocks. Clambers and climbs on small branches, twigs, and vines, mainly at middle to upper levels inside forest. Often hangs upside down like a chickadee. Note the bold white whisker mark, boldly patterned black-and-rusty wings and tail, and short, wedge-shaped bill. Compared to Streaked Xenops, note the general lack of streaking in Atlantic Plain. Song is a short, relatively slow, high-pitched series of upslurred squeaky notes.

An elongated black bird with a coppery-purple metallic sheen and a long, decurved red-orange bill. The juvenile has a dark bill, but is often in the company of adults. The species flies heavily with the white-tipped tail dangling. Pairs and groups of 3-12 are highly social, occupying arid savanna, woodland, and riverine forest along the Namib escarpment, where they nest and roost in natural cavities. They clamber in trees, probing bark and crevices for insects and small vertebrates, and communicate using a strong cackling chatter that is almost maniacal. The almost identical Green Woodhoopoe (with which this species sometimes hybridizes) only differs from Violet Woodhoopoe by having a glossy-greenish (not coppery-purple) metallic sheen.