Yellow-casqued Hornbill

A tiny dark swift with a long, slender, pointed tail. Restricted to the Maracaibo basin of Venezuela, barely slipping over the border into Colombia in Norte de Santander. In flight note the dark body with pale gray throat and belly. Similar to Fork-tailed Palm-Swift, but Pygmy Swift is much smaller and has darker underparts. Usually in groups flying in circles at low levels close to grasslands, open areas, towns, always near palm trees.

A large stork with a completely bare head and neck ideal for its scavenging habits. The adult’s face is red and the neck is yellow while the juvenile has a brownish head and a white, thinly-feathered neck. The upperparts are all dark while the underparts are mostly white. In flight, note the broad wings with distinctive white “armpits” and tucked in neck. Similar to the larger Greater Adjutant; Lesser has a more slender bill, has all-dark upperwings, and often adopts a more upright, less “hunched” posture. Often found in shallow marshes, fields, and swamps.

Small songbird, mud brown above, pale below, with pale tan supercilium (white only in the lores) and black eyeline. Smaller-billed than the similar Radde's Warbler, which has a predominantly white supercilium (tan only in the lores). Inhabits a wide range of areas with dense, low vegetation, from open forests to agricultural field edges. Forages low in undergrowth, but regularly pops out to investigate surroundings. Easily detected by its hard “tak” calls, given constantly as it moves around out of sight. Song is a bland, brief series of rapidly repeated phrases: “jijijijiji.”