Striped Sparrow

A tiny parrot of lowland and foothill forest. Mostly green with yellow undertail, blue tail and large buffy face with contrasting dark crown patch. As with other pygmy-parrots, climbs on trunks with its outsized feet, like a nuthatch feeding on lichens and bark fungus. May overlap with Red-breasted or Yellow-capped Pygmy-Parrots, but Buff-faced, lacks the red belly, yellow crown and has a more extensive buffy face. Call, a very high-pitch note of varying lengths, “siiiiii!” or double “sii sii!”

Thickset, short-winged, pot-bellied gull. Adult has dark gray back and wings, intense pink legs, and an especially large white “crescent” (white tertial edges) near the wingtips when perched. Breeding adult white-headed; nonbreeding birds have variably heavy brown streaking on the head and upper breast. Takes four years for immatures to progress from mostly brown to fully white and gray adult plumage; intermediate plumages are often mottled and messy. Often looks rather frosty by the first winter; starts to develop a gray back and whitish eye in its second year. Primarily an Asian species, found in coastal regions from Japan and South Korea to Russia. Regularly occurs in western Alaska, but very rare elsewhere in North America.

Small hummingbird found from central Panama to southwestern Ecuador. Males are mostly emerald green with a contrasting purple belly. Females are green above with pale grayish underparts. Note relatively short, straight bill in both sexes. Relatively distinctive but could be confused with a woodnymph; look for smaller size and more compact shape with a straighter bill. Found in forests and edges, often feeding on small flowers at lower to middle levels. Visits feeders.