Clarion Wren

A large, long-billed woodpecker with an olive back, a red rump, a bold facial pattern, and heavily marked underparts with a bright red central belly stripe. The crown and back of the head are black in the female and red in males. Forages alone or in pairs, preferring dead tree trunks where it can excavate for beetle larvae and other insects in lowland rainforest, gallery forest, and plantations. Calls include a sharp “kwip,” a series of similar notes, and a fast whinnying call. Also gives a distinctive drum that lasts about 2 seconds, beginning fast and then slowing. Similar to Bearded and Yellow-crested Woodpeckers, but there is very little overlap in range, and those species lack the red belly patch. 

Huge vulture, slightly smaller than Eurasian Griffon. Adults have dark-bodied with pale feather tips on body and shoulders, giving them a scaled appearance; also note pale bill and eye. Juveniles are dark with a characteristic pale bar on the leading edge of the underwings and have a black bill and dark eyes. Nests on cliffs and is generally silent except when squabbling at carcasses. Often encountered foraging over grasslands and soaring along cliffs and ridgelines.

An entertaining heron to watch—known for sprinting, jumping, and spinning around in shallow water with its wings held up. Dark morph is more common than white morph. Adults are dark gray with a rusty head and neck. Immatures are paler grayish and rusty overall. In breeding plumage, the pink bill and blue lores can become shockingly bright. White morphs are similar to other egrets, but note behavior, grayish legs, and pink bill base (adults). Found exclusively near the coast, especially on mudflats. Typically uncommon, usually seen singly or in scattered small numbers. Dark morph most easily confused with Little Blue Heron, but Reddish Egret is larger and forages much more actively.