Pere David's Tit

Small brownish duck with a blue bill, dark cap, and a dark smudge on the pale tan cheek. In flight, look for white, black, and green stripes on the wing. Found on freshwater wetlands, lakes, and rice paddies, at low to moderate elevations. Combination of small size, blue bill, and cheek marking separate it from all other ducks and grebes. 

A rather small, demure understory denizen resembling a cross between a robin and a flycatcher. Mostly dull brownish-olive with a rusty rump and a paler throat and belly. Juvenile is more mottled. A local and endangered bird found singly and in pairs in thick undergrowth of primary and secondary forest, thickets, and coffee plantations, resident in a narrow range along the Angolan escarpment between 810 and 1300 meters of elevation. Sits for long periods, sallying to catch insect prey. Calls include a soft series of descending whistles. May be mistaken for a flycatcher, but its furtive nature and preference for thick understory are unique within its range. 

Typical spinetail with a long spiky tail, a grayish head, cinnamon wings and tail, a white throat, and rather bright tawny underparts. Sexes similar. The whitish lores are not particularly conspicuous. Inhabits the understory of gallery forest in southwestern Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia. Note voice: a sharp, nasal “keeeu...kit-kweet!” Compare with Plain-crowned Spinetail, which has less richly colored underparts and a faster song.