Plain-backed Sunbird

Small and slim with a strong rusty-brown wing panel, resembles a small and beautified Greater Whitethroat. The male has a gray hood, white puffy throat, black in front of the eye, conspicuous white eyering, and white mustache. Females best told from Greater Whitethroat by short wings and dark centers to the tertials. Breeds in low bushes and scrub including salt flats; winters in similar habitats as well as tamarisk thickets and oases. Shy, but given its choice of habitat, often has nowhere to really hide. Normally sings from the tops of bushes or in flight, giving tuneful whistles with harsher, rattled notes.

Small, creeping bird of highland forest canopy. Chestnut cap, wings, and tail contrast with olive-brown back and gray underparts. At close range, note somewhat decurved bill. Found only in humid highland forests of the tepui region (above 800 m), particularly in areas with heavy growth of mosses and epiphytes. Forages by hitching up large branches and tree trunks, and also creeps along limbs, inspecting bromeliads and bark crevices from which it gleans insect prey. Often encountered with mixed-species flocks. Voice is a long series of high tinkling notes, dropping in pitch and accelerating. No similar species occurs in tepui highlands.

Field identification challenging. Pay attention to short wings (short primary projection), gray-brown tones to upperparts and long, dark-tipped bill with a flat forehead. Song is varied with many repetitions and lots of mimicry; call is a high-pitched and loud "tek." Found in forest edges, bushes, marsh edges, and parks, but not particularly associated with water. Usually sings from bushes and trees, not in reeds or herbage.