Bioko Batis

Rare and endangered parakeet endemic to foothill cloud forest in southwestern Ecuador. It is mostly green with red on forehead, shoulder, and undertail. Flight feathers are blue, which is usually only evident in flight. Also note the whitish eyering and rather long tail. Usually encountered in small flocks that fly from tree to tree, screeching as they go. Most of the known population is found in and around the Buenaventura Reserve, where the birds are successfully using artificial nest boxes.

Fairly common to uncommon coot, mainly in lowlands. Found on fresh to brackish ponds and lakes and wetlands with open water. Feeds mainly while swimming, often farther out on open water than other coots. Bill pattern diagnostic: rather small rounded forehead shield is bright yellow to deep orange, always brighter than the pale yellow bill. Named for narrow white trailing edge to wings, that are rarely visible. Juvenile sooty gray with whitish face and foreneck. Often occurs with Red-gartered Coots.

Medium-sized plover with a pale throat, brown back, and white belly. Breeding adults have a black mask, white forehead, and a bright orange chest and neck; males average brighter than females. Non-breeding and immature birds are brownish above and white below, with a variable white forehead and eyebrow. Compare with slightly larger Greater Sand-Plover; Siberian is proportionally smaller-headed and darker-legged, and its shorter bill has a slight bulge at the tip. Smaller Kentish Plover can be similar in non-breeding plumage; Siberian is taller and longer-legged, without Kentish’s strong white neck band. Very difficult to distinguish from Tibetan Sand-Plover, especially nonbreeding and immature birds, though identification can often be presumed by range. In breeding plumage, note the less extensive black mask of Siberian, usually with a white spot on the forehead. In nonbreeding plumage, look for a generally stronger breast band and faint brown markings on the flanks in Siberian. In areas of overlap many birds best left unidentified. Breeds mainly in Russian Far East; winters on coastal mudflats and beaches from Taiwan to Australia.