Tanahjampea Monarch

Huge white bird with long neck and all-black bill. Immatures dusky gray-brown with pink on bill. Forages in shallow, vegetated wetlands reaching under the water for plants, and walks through corn stubble. Breeds in freshwater marshes and ponds. Winters on any open body of water where food is available. Extremely similar to Tundra Swan, but never shows yellow on bill. Also, note subtle features of face: facial skin is relatively broad where it meets eye, so the eye doesn't stand out, and border between white face and black bill is straight (curved on Tundra). From head-on, the border of the bill and forehead is usually pointed (straight or curved on Tundra). Often in pairs or family groups. Almost went extinct in early 20th century, but population has rebounded and been reintroduced to some areas.

Very small woodcreeper of evergreen forest in humid tropical lowlands and foothills. Creeps up trunks, often in spirals, picking at the bark for food, then flies low to another tree before hitching upwards again. Forages on fairly large trunks as well as slender trees. Often travels with mixed-species feeding flocks. Note the short, wedge-shaped bill and pale buffy breast spotting.

Medium-sized plover with a pale throat, brown back, and white belly. Breeding adults have a black mask and a bright orange chest and neck; males average brighter than females. Non-breeding and immature birds are brownish above and white below, with a variable white forehead and eyebrow. Compare with slightly larger Greater Sand-Plover; Tibetan is proportionally smaller-headed and darker-legged, and its shorter bill has a slight bulge at the tip. Smaller Kentish Plover can be similar in non-breeding plumage; Tibetan is taller and longer-legged, without Kentish’s strong white neck band. Very difficult to distinguish from Siberian Sand-Plover, especially nonbreeding and immature birds, though identification can often be presumed by range. In breeding plumage, note the more extensive black mask of Tibetan, typically lacking the white spot on the forehead of Siberian. In nonbreeding plumage, look for a generally broken breast band and clean white flanks in Tibetan. In areas of overlap many birds best left unidentified. Breeds on margins of high-elevation lakes and rivers in China and Mongolia; winters on coastal mudflats, beaches, and inland lakes from Africa to Indonesia.