Pringle's Puffback

Rare but spectacular eagle of lowland tropical forest. Very rarely seen perched, when black mask, orange-yellow base of bill, and short black crest are distinctive. In flight appears bright white below with a white head and blackish upperparts. The diagnostic, white leading edge of the inner half of the wing contrasts with the black upperside and can be seen in flight at long range. Does not call much when flying, unlike Black and Ornate hawk-eagles. Adult similar to pale immature Gray-headed Kite, but is larger and has orange base to bill.

A small, localized bird of mid- to high-elevation montane forest on Mindanao. Has a long, curved bill, a gray head, yellow underparts and rump, an olive back and wings, and a white-tipped tail. Male has a narrow pale yellow throat stripe from the bill to the chest bordered with dark gray, a greenish-blue tail, an orange smudge down from the middle of the chest, and a small red patch in front of the shoulder. Female has a pale gray throat. Similar to Gray-hooded Sunbird, but Apo has a yellow rather than a white belly. Voice includes a rapid pulsing series of “chip!” notes and a high-pitched upslurred “chuuuuuit!”

Long known to ornithologists as something different (and informally called “Millpo Tapaculo”), this bird was finally described as a new species in 2020. It inhabits grassy, rock-strewn areas above tree line at high elevations in the eastern Andes of central Peru. Plumage is mainly gray with tan rear parts that are faintly barred, and it sometimes shows a faint, whitish eyebrow; female is browner than male. Similar in appearance to several other tapaculos, and best identified by range and voice. Song, often given from atop a rock, is a seemingly endless series of raspy chip notes.