Pectoral Sparrow

Spectacular male shows diagnostic maroon sides to head and collar, iridescent metallic blue-green forehead and crown, blue shoulder, moss-green back, and yellow rump. Underside is uniform bright yellow in both sexes, although female is entirely olive above. Juvenile resembles female but with pale legs. Singles and pairs inhabit forest, shrubbery, and plantations in lowlands and lower hills, often joining mixed-species flocks. Female can be separated from female Black and Brown-throated Sunbirds by bright yellow underparts and lack of yellow eyebrow. Gives high-pitched “tzeeet” calls. Song is an undulating trill.

Medium-sized woodpecker found from Costa Rica to northern South America. Pale buffy overall with a red nape and belly and black-and-white barring on the back. Female has a pale crown with restricted red on the back of the nape; male has red extending to top of crown. Common in open woodlands, second growth, and gardens. Distinctive in range, but hybridizes extensively with Hoffmann’s Woodpecker on the Pacific slope in Costa Rica. Hybrids usually show orange nape and belly.

Rare flycatcher known only from a few sites in the Colombian Andes, mainly in the northern part of the central range. It is fairly small and mostly yellow, with a gray crown and broad, yellow wingbars. Yellow and gray smudges on ears can be very indistinct. Often confused with the much more common Yellow-olive Flycatcher, but bill is narrower, wingbars are brighter yellow, and voice is different. Typical song is a short burst that starts off as a dry rattle and then morphs into airy squeaking. Inhabits humid forest and sometimes joins mixed species flocks.