Black-crested Warbler

Dark, subtly-patterned tinamou. Cold grayish brown, with a more reddish head and variable black barring on the wings; females are more strongly barred than males. Usually found in mature upland rainforest. Its song is a distinctive long, flat whistle that is held for at least five seconds, sometimes much longer; beware, in parts of their range there are similar-sounding cicadas!

An unmistakable medium-sized songbird: dark olive-green with a black head, white collar, gray “whiskers” on the face, and black-tipped tail. Namesake yellow bill is stout and slightly curved, unlike the dark thin bills of most bulbuls. Often seen perched on telephone wires, treetops, and rooftops. Forages methodically in lowland and foothill forests, gardens, and brushlands (below 1500 m). Regularly gathers in flocks, but not a common component of mixed-species flocks. Song a series of three-syllabled warbles; calls include rising “chirrup” and series of “whit” notes.

Medium-sized, gray shorebird with short yellow legs and straight bill. Elongated, horizontal posture. In breeding plumage, look for jaggedly barred underparts and thin white eyebrow; similar in winter but with plainer gray underparts. Usually found on rocks, where it typically forages independently while bobbing its tail up and down. Sometimes close to other rock-loving shorebirds like turnstones, Surfbird, and Rock Sandpiper. Compare with extremely similar Gray-tailed Tattler, which overlaps extensively in range in western Alaska, the South Pacific, Australia, and parts of Asia. Wandering is more closely associated with rocky habitats as opposed to beaches and mudflats, but this shouldn’t be used as a definitive field mark. Plumage differences are very subtle. In breeding plumage, Wandering averages coarser and more extensive barring on underparts, and juveniles usually have darker gray flanks. All ages have a longer groove on the upper mandible. Best characteristic is voice: Wandering typically gives a ringing trilled call, much different than Gray-tailed’s two- or three-noted “too-wee” call.