Wattled Lapwing

A large weaver with a long, thin pointed bill. The male has a pale eye, and during the breeding season a brownish wash to the face. The female has a brown eye and an olive-brown belly. The species occupies open country, where it often breeds in mixed-species colonies over water or in large isolated trees. The chattering and rasping song is long and complex. The smaller Southern Brown-throated Weaver has a chunkier bill than Cape Weaver; its male has a better defined brown throat and its female has a white belly. African Golden-Weaver has reddish eyes, and Holub’s Golden-Weaver has an unstreaked yellowish back.

Large and lanky with gray-blue back, white neck, and black cap. Widespread and conspicuous (though not abundant) in marshes, rivers, and lakes from Panama to southernmost Chile and Argentina, usually at low elevations. Can be seen singly or in congregations with other herons. Where range overlaps with Great Blue Heron, look for white neck and more extensive black cap.

Large hummingbird with an olive-green back contrasting with its cinnamon rump and belly. Note slightly curved bill with a red lower mandible and prominent dark mask. The tail is long with eye-catching white tips. Avoids forests; found in grasslands, shrubby areas, wooded savannas, and at forest edges.