Shy Ground Dove

A medium-sized bird of montane forest canopy. Plump, with a bulge on the head and a somewhat narrow bill. Male is all black with some greenish iridescence in front of the eye, at the back of the wing and a yellowish edge to the mouth. The female is mainly olive green with rufous wings and tail. Male is similar to Short-tailed Paradigalla but lacks the yellow wattle. Female is similar to female Crested Satinbird and MacGregor’s Bowerbird but it is smaller, overall color is olive green rather than brown and lacks Crested Satinbird’s pale eye. Male gives a far-carrying, nasal whistle from an exposed perch.

Fairly common on western slopes of the Andes and in interior valleys, favoring drier habitats with weedy brush on rocky slopes, and also agricultural areas with hedges and thickets. Often in pairs, foraging low in weedy brush, where can be hard to see well; agile and often active, clinging upside down at tips of branches. Identified by boldly streaked crown and back, weakly patterned or mostly plain underparts, and very long spiky-tipped tail. Compare with the bulkier Andean Tit-Spinetail (local overlap in Peru).

Medium-sized and typically noisy foliage-gleaner with an olive-brown back, buff underparts, a white throat, and a rusty tail. Found mainly in humid lowland forest, often near streams, but also sometimes in seasonally flooded forests. Forages from the understory to middle levels. Acrobatically looks for food by gleaning dead leaves, and often accompanies mixed-species flocks.