Tapajos Antpitta

An unmistakable black, white, and gray thrush. Gray upperparts and black head marked with bold white cheek patch and long white eyebrow. Throat and chest black and belly clean white, peppered with black spots on the upper part. Occurs in forest, where it forages on the ground but often perches in trees just below the canopy, particularly when singing. Confined to the Tanimbar Islands. Complex song is a sequence of melodious whistled stanzas, mostly upslurred at the start, and interspersed with quick “chew-chew-chew” phrases.

A medium-sized slender pipit-like lark with a long tail and relatively weak bill. A washed-out version of Blanford’s and Red-capped Llarks, which it replaces on the Somali and Arabian peninsulasNote whitish eyebrow and diffuse reddish-brown crown that can be raised into a small crest. Some individuals have pale reddish-brown sides to the chest on otherwise very plain pale underparts. Pairs and small flocks are resident and partial migrants in open and sparsely vegetated regions, including stony areas. Pairs or small groups forage on the ground, where they can be surprisingly cryptic, running around in short bursts and stopping to forage. It can also be found drinking at waterholes. The song, often given in an extended undulating pipit-like display flight, is a series of unmusical whistles and trills incorporating mimicry of other birds.

Large dark swift with long sickle-shaped wings and a forked tail, which is often kept closed in a needle-tipped point while in flight. Black overall with an ashy gray throat and a thin white rump. Distinguished from needletails by proportionally longer wings, longer and more slender body, and much longer tail. Closely related Pacific Swift has a broader and brighter rump patch and a whiter throat. Faint greenish gloss on the back is diagnostic but difficult to see. Like other "fork-tailed swifts", usually seen in flight over hills, forests, and open areas. Gives high thin notes as well as a grating trills. Breeds in limestone caves.