Buff-spotted Flameback

A small bird of foothill forest understory and midstory. Dark brown upperparts, paler underparts and characteristic pale bill. Races differ. Some with spotted throat and whitish or buffy underparts. Searches actively for insects in small groups or mixed flocks, often flicking its tail. Co-occurs at elevations with other scrubwrens, including Gray-green and Perplexing, but Pale-billed has an obvious pale bill. Song, an up-and-down “see-saw” repeated. Call, a scratchy chattering.

Fairly large flycatcher of the Andes from Venezuela to Argentina. Conspicuous orangish belly and black-and-white streaked throat make this bush-tyrant fairly easy to identify. Also note larger size than Smoky Bush-Tyrant and heftier bill. Typically found in open habitats, usually at the forest edge. Singles or pairs perch conspicuously, sometimes even on telephone wires.

Large, lanky blackbird with rounded crown and long tail. Males have ridiculously long tails, almost as long as their body, often held in a V-shape like the keel of boat. Males are glossy black. Females are brown, with subtle face pattern. Eye color ranges from brown along western Gulf Coast to yellow on Atlantic Coast. Strictly coastal, except in Florida where they occur inland (often around human development). Overlaps with similar Great-tailed Grackle on Texas coast, but occurs more strictly in coastal saltmarshes and has dark eye (not pale).