Bare-throated Tiger-Heron

Stocky goose that inhabits rocky coastlines, lagoons, and tidal flats. Striking white head, black throat, and petite pink bill. Blue-gray body with intricate black-and white bars, a white tail, and bright orange legs. Face sometimes stained orangish-brown. Juvenile has a gray head, but still shows white tail. Breeds on marshy tundra and winters in small flocks on coastal waters. Rarely seen outside Alaska.

Male very similar in appearance to Daurian Redstart; note more restricted silver on the forehead and less distinct wing panel. Female’s lack of a white wing patch distinguishes her from female Daurian, and she averages paler than female Black Redstart, with a brighter eye-ring. Blue-fronted Redstart female can be similar; Hodgson’s female is colder-toned with a single dark stripe down the tail instead of Blue-fronted’s inverted “T.” Hodgson’s breeds in hilly and montane open forests and forest edge; descends in the winter, favoring scrubby edge.

Glossy small black cuckoo with a forked tail. Juvenile has a galaxy-like smattering of white spots all over the body. Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo has a less prominently-forked tail; note less difference in length of outermost tail feathers. Adults may be confused with drongos, but are lighter-billed and smaller, with distinctly white-barred undertail. Widespread, found in forests and scrubby plains from lowlands up into foothills and mountainous areas, but much more often heard than seen, typically sitting still in the middle and upper levels of forest; song is an extremely loud ascending series of whistles. Lays its eggs in the nests of babblers, bulbuls, and shrikes.