Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet

Portly green dove of tropical lowland forest canopy. Male unmistakable, with cream-white head, neck, and upper breast contrasting with dark wings, tail, and body. Male’s black chin very difficult to see. Female a dark mossy green with a contrasting pale yellow bill, unlike any other pigeon in its range. Generally uncommon and unobtrusive. Song a deep, throaty “rrrooooooo” that does not carry far.

Distinctive antbird with pale blue eyering and snowy white underparts. Upperparts rufous. Dark mask. Can be difficult to see well; found close to the ground in mature forest, usually in pairs or small flocks following an army ant swarm. Listen for descending, scolding call. Sexes alike.

A very slender gray-brown swift with a long, deeply forked tail that is often held closed, making it look needle-like and pointed. The erratic flight pattern, with frequent direction changes and rapid wingbeats on long, scythe-shaped wings, is distinctive. Less gregarious than other swifts; usually found in pairs or small flocks, and association with other swallows and swifts is usually only fleeting. Forages over a wide variety of habitats with palms, including savanna, coastal scrub, towns, villages, cultivated areas, forest edge, and clearings, from sea level up to 1800 meters of elevation, preferring lowlands. Nests and roosts in palms and uses its tiny legs with hook-like claws to cling to the undersides of fronds. Gives a high-pitched, metallic “tre-tit-tit-tit-tit-tit-tit-tit” call, solitarily or in unison with others. Separated from other swifts by its longer and thinner tail.