Lawrence's Thrush

A medium-sized, rather robust and long-tailed warbler, with a noticeably stout bill. Variable plumage, from bright adult males with extensive yellow throat to extremely dull grayish-brown immature females. Always look for two white wingbars, diffuse streaking on the sides of the breast, large bill, and long narrow tail with a shallow notch. Well-named: almost always found in pine trees throughout the year. In spring and summer, listen for loud musical trill (compare with Chipping Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco). Occasionally visits feeders, especially for suet. A short-distance migrant, wintering entirely in the United States.

A small but stout woodland species often found hovering beneath the canopy while snapping up insects or fruit. Note the male’s all blackish plumage. The only similar bird in its range is the Jamaican Blackbird, but the Jamaican Blackbird has a slimmer bill and it is typically found probing in vegetation rather than flycatching like the becard. Females and immatures are dark brown above and pale below, often with buff on throat. Females and immatures could be mistaken for Stolid, Sad, or Rufous-tailed Flycatchers, however, these flycatchers have grayish (not buff) throats and yellowish on the belly that female and immature becards lack. Song is a staccato squeaky twitter typically followed by a drawn out “tweeeee.” Call is a sharp but squeaky “peep.”

Slim, pale greenbul. The yellow streaks on the underparts are always hard to see. The crown color varies geographically: can be olive-green or gray. Found in moist forest, especially montane forest. The most distinctive attribute of this species is its behavior: creeping along midstory branches in almost woodpecker-like fashion, frequently flicking out one wing. Gives nasal calls and a descending series of more musical whistles. Easily confused with other greenbul species, but much paler overall than most greenbuls, and wing-flicking behavior is diagnostic.