Orange-billed Babbler

Small, barred wren of the high paramo. Eyebrow whitish; upperparts, flanks, wings, and tail barred. Back with contrasting white stripes, and underparts pale and plain. Sexes similar. Often hard to see but locally common, found alone or in pairs in high paramo, especially in damper areas. Often singing on top of vegetation. Minimal overlap with Sedge Wren, which is less barred and has buffier and fainter eyebrow. Endemic to the Andes of Venezuela.

A medium-sized wheatear that is variable in plumage, but always has a diagnostic white rump and outer tail feathers in both sexes. The male has both gray and black morphs with white shoulder patches and black wings; gray morphs often have a gray crown. The female is sooty brown. Pairs and small groups perch on promontories in open shrubby hilly areas, stony patches on level ground, and around stone buildings, dropping onto the ground to forage. The similar White-headed Black-Chat resembles male dark-morph Mountain Wheatear, but has a black tail and rump and occupies broadleaf woodland.

Tiny, rare, skulking rail-like bird that is unlikely to be seen unless you’re expressly looking for it at a handful of known sites. Male has rich rufous and olive-green color, while female is a subdued dark brown. Found in a few wetlands at middle and high elevations in eastern Madagascar, usually adjacent to rainforest. Call is an odd and earthy series of “tduk” calls, sometimes given singly and sometimes in triplets. Longer-billed than the much more common Madagascar Flufftail, and both sexes of Slender-billed Flufftail have duller coloration.