Pale-breasted Thrush

A long-tailed kingfisher of lowland and foothill forest. Brown head and back, orange underparts and rump, deep blue shoulder and long tail with narrow white tips. Sits quietly in the mid-story, occasionally pumping the tail and flicking it right up when startled. Similar to Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher, but Brown-headed has a brown rather than black and blue head and lacks the white stripe down the back. Song, a rising and falling (or just falling) and accelerating series of notes ending in a trill “weeep weep wewewewweewe……..”

Very local, long-tailed, and social parrot of mountains in northwest Mexico. Feeds in pine and pine-oak forests. Nests colonially in groves of giant aspens, whose soft trunks allow nest cavities to be excavated. Usually found in flocks, of 10–100 birds, less often in scattered pairs; often located by its far-carrying, raucous laughing calls. No similar species in its range; note the red forehead and small red shoulder patches. In flight shows a broad yellow stripe under the wings.

Small, short-billed flycatcher found in the Andes from Venezuela to Peru. Yellow below with two pale wingbars. Black cap is quite obvious and helps distinguish from other small flycatchers. Singles or pairs are usually seen foraging actively at forest edge or in scrubby habitats, often following mixed-species flocks. Occurs at fairly high elevations, from around 1,800-3,300m.