Chestnut-breasted Nigrita

A graceful aerial feeder found over a wide variety of open habitats, especially near water, including marshes and towns. Often seen on exposed perches including power and telephone lines in villages. Commonly found in flocks of up to twenty birds, sometimes mixing with other swallows and martins. Note the male’s diagnostic glossy purple-blue plumage and snow-white belly. Females and immatures are similarly patterned, but have brown mixed with the blue and are probably not safely separable from Cuban Martin. Female and immature Purple Martins are very similar, but they often have a scaly breast and finely streaked belly, with less contrast between belly and chest. Notably, Cuban and Purple Martins are not present in this species’ range from March to September. Calls include a harsh “churr,” a buzzy “zwick-zwick,” and a musical buzzy burbling.

Small, grayish-brown sandpiper. Typically shows relatively short, blunt-tipped bill, but this varies across the breeding range: western populations are shortest-billed, eastern populations are longest, and females have longer bills than males! Also note blackish legs, although they can appear dull gray or greenish. In breeding plumage, fairly pale grayish brown, sometimes with brighter rusty cap and cheek. Nonbreeding is plain gray above and white below. Juveniles have attractive scaly pattern on upperparts, and variable coloration: usually grayish with some buffy areas, occasionally brighter rufous. Most similar to Western and Least Sandpipers. Western averages slightly larger and longer-billed, with brighter rufous on breeding adults and juveniles; nonbreeding birds paler but extremely similar to Semipalmated. Least Sandpiper is darker and browner. Breeds on high Arctic tundra. Migrates to South America for the winter; very rarely lingers in the U.S. past November, unlike Western Sandpiper. Usually found in flocks, sometimes in very large numbers. Prefers open mudflats, but also found in marshes and beaches.

Small compact brown pheasant with bright red facial skin and iridescent sapphire spots all over the body, with longer green spots on the tail. Inhabits forests with dense cover from the lowlands up into the foothills and lower montane areas. Generally shy and reclusive and very difficult to see well.