Black-legged Dacnis

This striking vireo is found in the canopy of lowland forest in northern Colombia and western Venezuela. The lime green upperparts contrast with a bright yellow eyebrow and throat, fading to paler yellow on the belly. Note the blue crown and thick bill with slight hook at the tip typical of vireos. No other species are bright green with such a hefty bill. Look for singles or pairs moving slowly in the trees, sometimes with a mixed-species flock. Sings a song with a few descending whistled notes.

A large stork with a completely bare head and neck ideal for its scavenging habits. The adult’s face is red and the neck is yellow while the juvenile has a brownish head and a white, thinly-feathered neck. The upperparts are all dark while the underparts are mostly white. In flight, note the broad wings with distinctive white “armpits” and tucked in neck. Similar to the larger Greater Adjutant; Lesser has a more slender bill, has all-dark upperwings, and often adopts a more upright, less “hunched” posture. Often found in shallow marshes, fields, and swamps.

Gregarious, strong-flying seabird. Adults are whitish with an apricot-colored head; note also the distinctive blackish arrow-shaped tail and pointed dark wingtips and hind wing. Flocks are often seen from headlands close to the shore. Constant flapping-and-gliding flight pattern and sharp plunge-diving when foraging are unique within range. Dingy brown immatures share the overall shape and flight pattern of adults. At sea, albatrosses hardly ever flap in flight. Other gannets and boobies are mostly absent from its range. Harsh, loud rollicking “wurrah, wurrah, wurrah” given at breeding colonies and while feeding.