Sooty Chat

A somewhat large, chunky dove of dry scrub woodlands where it is typically found foraging on ground. Its plain plumage, the lack of white on the wings, and the very limited white on its tail, distinguish it from other doves on Grenada. Its song is a drawn out low, plaintive “Hooooooo,” loudest near start. Critically endangered.

A nest parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of Black-cheeked and Black-faced Waxbills. As with other whydahs, breeding males are distinctive, whereas non-breeding males and females are drab and inconspicuous. Breeding males are glossy blue-black with elongated central tail feathers. Non-breeding males and females have a brownish back, a heavily striped face, and a whitish bill and legs. Generally uncommon in rather dry savanna and woodland. Non-breeding male and female can be cautiously separated from other whydahs and indigobirds by their pale bill and legs. Not very vocal, but does imitate the waxbills that it parasitizes. 

Rotund terrestrial bird of hilly forests, usually seen singly. Male exquisitely colored: bright flame-orange overall, with white dots all over the body, black face, and electric blue facial wattle that is inflated into a liver-shaped, dazzling red-and-blue flap during courtship. Female similarly shaped and sized, dark brown overall, with pale spotting and streaking. Generally quiet; courting males give loud booming moans.