Snowy-throated Kingbird

Chunky, mid-sized rail. Note the black-and-brown scalloped back, gray head and chest, barred belly, reddish bill and yellowish legs. Found in mostly seasonal wetlands, such as flooded grassland. Most often seen trailing its long legs when it flushes from grass before quickly settling back down. Two common vocalizations are a series of dry “krrr” notes and a series of deeper “du-da” notes. Similar color pattern to African Rail, but African Crake has a shorter bill and a spotted back.

A typical thrush in shape and size, but with unusual brown coloration. Varies significantly across the three islands where it occurs, and these populations may be full species. The Grand Comoro birds have plain pale brown underparts, the Moheli birds have darker blotching below, and the distinctive Anjouan birds are scaled on the underparts. Found in humid forest, secondary habitats, and plantations, mostly at higher elevations, though down to sea level in some places. The song is a typical thrush mix of whistles and quavering notes, whose exact structure varies on the different islands. Also gives “pik” notes, short trills, and a high-pitched “seet.”  

Rare and poorly-known hummingbird with extremely limited range near the border of Panama and Colombia. The most distinctive feature on this medium-sized hummingbird is the pale rufous outer tail feathers, present on both males and females. Also note small cinnamon patch on wings. Male has glittering blue-green throat. Female is paler below with a cinnamon wash on throat. Occurs in the foothills and highlands, usually in the lower to middle levels of forest.