Pincoya Storm-Petrel

A massive arboreal bushshrike of lowland forests. Shaped like a typical bushshrike but oversized, with a giant bill. Throat and breast are orange-red, fading to yellow under the tail. Head is gray with two giant white spectacles around the eyes. The back, wings, and tail are yellow-green with dark spots at the tips of the secondary flight feathers and tail. Locally overlaps with Lagden’s Bushshrike and possibly with Green-breasted Bushshrike and Monteiro’s Bushshrike, but Fiery-breasted is unique in its combination of orange-red breast and bright white spectacles. Gives a series of short, ringing hoots, “kwhop, kwhop,” sometimes spaced out by several seconds. 

Anis are bizarre, coal-black cuckoos with long floppy tails and unique, curiously tall, flattened bills. Groove-billed occurs in a variety of open and semi-open habitats in tropical lowlands and foothills, typically staying low in shrubs and grasses. Gregarious and not particularly graceful; usually seen crashing around awkwardly in small groups. Flies with choppy wingbeats and long glides. Widespread and common throughout Middle America, as far north as Texas. In South America, primarily occurs west of the Andes; also in inter-Andean valleys and lowlands of northern Colombia and Venezuela. Compare with the very similar Smooth-billed Ani, which overlaps locally. Note especially the bill shape: Groove-billed typically has a lower, more evenly rounded top edge to the bill without an obvious keel, and the lower edge of the bill is straighter. Grooves are distinctive but can be difficult to see. Voice is also important: listen for a sharp “PIT!-tooee” and other sharp clicks and whistles.

A long-tailed, bulky greenish turaco with a yellow bill, a red crest, and gray cheeks. In flight, it explodes from the canopy, showing distinctive deep red panels in the wings. Pairs or small groups bounce agilely through montane primary and secondary evergreen forest canopies. Restricted to the Bamenda highlands of Cameroon, where it is an endangered species. Presence often revealed by its song, which lasts about 5 seconds: a whooping “hooooah” followed by 7–10 harsh croaking repeated “khaaar” notes; higher-pitched than songs of most other turacos. It is the only turaco within its range with a red crest.