Ochre-breasted Brushfinch

Small, flightless dark brown duck, endemic to New Zealand. Males have green iridescence on head, dark chestnut-colored breast, and lightly barred flanks. Females are uniformly dark brown. Both sexes have distinct white eye-ring. Confined to the Auckland islands, where it occurs on all major islands except the main Auckland Island. Found on sheltered shorelines rummaging through windblown kelp piles. Also found on streams with adequate cover of tussock and sedges. Males give a soft trill as an alarm or territorial call. Females give a growl and a rapid quack. Distinguished from other New Zealand endemic teal species by location and light barring on sides.

Dark, long-tailed, sparrow-sized bird of dense thickets. Body plumage is mostly dark gray with a bright rufous cap and wings. An uncommon and patchily distributed resident of tepui slopes and lowland forest; often found near large rock formations and in old disturbed areas in rainforest. Stays close to the ground, rarely emerging from dense cover. Occurs in pairs or small family groups that forage unobtrusively for insects and do not follow mixed-species flocks. Voice is only audible at close range but is usually the first indication of this bird’s presence: it is a low, gravelly note, given repeatedly and irregularly, often sped into a rolling churr. Pale-breasted Spinetail has a similar plumage pattern, but McConnell’s is much darker and occupies forested habitats that Pale-breasted avoids.

Small flycatcher with gray cap, black ear patch, and buffy wingbars. Head pattern looks messy. Olive back and pale yellow belly. Most similar to Sepia-capped Flycatcher, but that species has a brown cap (not gray). Also very similar to bristle-tyrants of South America but note buffy wingbars and voice—a commonly heard, explosive “pseek!” sometimes with a sputtering trill at the end. Look for singles or pairs in forests and edges, usually not too high in the trees. Often follows mixed-species flocks.