Auckland Islands Teal

A common mid-sized woodpecker of the Himalayas. Note brownish forehead, dark cheek stripe, distinctive black barring on white back, and white spots on black shoulders and wings. The yellow head is bordered by red feathers in the male and by black feathers in the female. Often moves in mixed flocks with other species through open woodlands, gardens, and forest edges. Calls include a sharp “pic” and various nasal, mewing sounds.

Large spiderhunter with yellow eyerings and a similarly-colored tuft on the cheek. Bill is bicolored: pinkish at the base and darker towards the tip. Faint streaking on the throat, slightly longer and more slender bill, larger yellow ear tuft, and slightly narrower eyerings help distinguish it from similar Spectacled Spiderhunter. Forages in upper levels of lowland, foothill, and montane forests. Gives rather dry papery chittering.

Small and fairly bright antpitta found in foothills and subtropics from Costa Rica to Bolivia. Typical antpitta shape: plump and short-tailed. Dull brown above. Messy-looking buffy face and eyering. Some geographic variation: breast color varies from buffy to whitish, and some populations show bold dark scaling on breast, while others are nearly unmarked. Sexes similar. Shy and difficult to see; stays on or near the ground in forest, often perching on small limbs a couple meters high (more so than the larger antpittas). Swings its body side to side. Song can be difficult to detect: a simple, extremely high pitched, descending whistle. Occurs from around 500–2,500 m, usually lower than other small antpittas.