Little Grebe

Compact, robust, and big-headed warbler. Males are striking with a black hood contrasting with whitish throat, gray back, and red eyering. Females duller with a gray hood, white throat, and buff body. Common in many typical Mediterranean habitats including tall bushes, open woodlands, gardens, coastal scrub, and plantations; also in oases, acacia woodlands, and scrubby desert in non-breeding range. Usually first detected by its song, a fast, angry-sounding rattling "ctret-tret-tret-tret-tret" or "tetwtweer-tik-tik-tik" with whispering in between. The call is a dry "tseck."

Squat-looking bird with short legs and low-profile body. Adults are mostly sandy-brown with white belly, sometimes with blurry streaks on sides of breast. Look for bold head pattern, especially black mask and chest band. Throat color varies from yellow to white. Namesake horns on head are sometimes visible at close range. Juveniles can be confusing; they are messy-looking, grayish-brown with bold white spots and scallops on the upperparts. Note bill shape to help separate from sparrows or longspurs. Widespread in open habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Typically seen in flocks, sometimes mixed in with other open-ground songbirds, running along the ground in open areas with little to no vegetation. Listen for lovely jumbled song, as well as variable high-pitched calls when flying over.

Fairly common brownish bird found in shrubby grasslands and páramo in the high Andes from northern Colombia to central Peru. Notable features include bold white streaking above and below and rufous wings that contrast with its brown body. Typically shows a thin white eyebrow. Some variation across range: birds in East Andes of Colombia have a tawnier face while birds in Peru are whiter below. Compare with Streak-backed Canastero, which has much plainer underparts. Can be fairly sneaky and difficult to see on the ground or in dense shrubs, but occasionally perches in the open, especially when singing. Listen for accelerating series of harsh “scree” notes ending in a hard, fast trill.