Chinese Pond-Heron

Medium-sized, plain antpitta found in a limited area of the eastern Andes in south central Peru. It is uniform brown lacking strong field marks, but the pale eyering helps separate it from the similar Oxapampa Antpitta. Range and voice are also very important for ID. Typical songs include a short “bit-burr” and a series of five or six grating whistles. Inhabits the understory of high elevation forest and is mostly terrestrial, but sometimes perches higher to sing. It was formerly considered a subspecies of what used to be called Rufous Antpitta.

This stunning, long-tailed antbird is fond of bamboo thickets within or at the edge of montane forest. Male is streaked with black and white on the head, breast, and back, with a warm tawny belly and rump. The long tail feathers have white tips. Female is equally streaky but is buffy instead of white. Found from about 1,500–2,500 m in the Andes, above the elevation range of any similar species. Usually quite skulky, but listen for the distinctive raspy song, starting with two stronger introductory notes and ending with two or three longer wheezy notes.

A long-tailed bird of upper montane forest. The male has an iridescent green head and bib with a black chest band bordered with a thin gold stripe. Note the outlandishly long, white tail streamers. Female is blackish with barring on the belly and some iridescence on the head. Mainly eats fruit. Similar to Stephanie’s Astrapia, but Ribbon-tailed usually occurs at higher elevations. The female Ribbon-tailed has iridescence on the head and the male’s tail is white rather than black. Voice, excited, pulsing rasps.