Lesser Horned Owl

Utterly unmistakable inhabitant of waterside and riverine lowland evergreen forests, mangroves, and plantations. Midnight black with long white slashes on each wing, wine-red underparts, and a black chinstrap. Bulbous bill is glowingly powder-blue with warm tinges of orange and greenish-yellow. During the breeding season, the pendulous nests of this species can be quite obvious, hanging over forested waterways. Voice is nasal and generally unpleasant-sounding, consisting of odd low mechanical rasps.

Brightly-marked medium-sized leaf warbler. Bright yellow-green above with two long yellow wingbars, white underparts, a broad yellowish eyebrow, and a pale crown stripe. Bill is long and bicolored: gray above, orange below. Most similar in appearance to “Blyth’s-type” warblers, but crown stripe narrower and less diffuse. “White-tailed-type” warblers such as Davison’s can also be similar, but Emei averages duller green above with less intense yellow areas. Breeding range highly restricted: only known from a handful of sites in central China, where it is found in mid- to high-altitude hill and montane deciduous broadleaveded or mixed forests. Wintering range essentially unknown, but has turned up in Myanmar. Song is a medium-length resonant trill; calls include “chup” and “chew”.

A large, noisy shrike typical of open habitats across Asia. Adults have a dark mask and a light gray upper back with a variable amount of orange on lower back and flanks. Eastern subspecies has complete black cap; melanistic form has more extensive dark mask and is darker overall. Smaller Bay-backed Shrike has thicker black mask; Gray-backed Shrike has darker gray back and lacks orange coloration and white in wings. Juveniles difficult to separate from other juvenile shrikes. Gives loud, screeching calls; also mimics other birds.