Crowned Cormorant

A fairly small bustard of thick brush in dry country. The male has a buff crest that is usually hidden, and both sexes have a black belly. Found in dry savanna and thornscrub habitat with lots of bushes, unlike most bustards, which prefer grass-dominated habitats. Similar to Black-bellied and Hartlaub’s Bustards, but smaller, and prefers different habitats. Larger than Little Brown Bustard, with a black belly. The call is a rising and accelerating series of distressed-sounding notes that often precede the display: a quick flight up, then a plummet to the ground.

Attractive but rather local little bird of scrubby habitats and dense hedgerows in lowland desert. Mostly stays well hidden, hopping low to high in bushes and trees, tail sometimes held cocked. Sings from atop a bush or other prominent low perch. Readily identified by long spiky crest with a flashy white median patch. Male has solidly black face and throat while female has a whitish face and throat with black streaks. Immature has a plainer face with a whitish throat and shorter crest, but still has a big white flash in crest.

Beautiful little flycatcher with a spiky crest found in the Andes of northern Peru, just barely reaching over the border into southern Ecuador. Male is quite distinctive with a solid black face, black-and-white streaking, and a long crest that sticks up in front of its white crown. Female and immature are grayer with less contrasting plumage and shorter crest; the orange bill might lead to confusion with Yellow-billed Tit-Tyrant, but Black-crested lacks brown on the back and yellow on the belly. Very similar to Pied-crested Tit-Tyrant, but Black-crested has broader white tips to the tail; also note its more northern range. Inhabits scrub and light woodland, often giving squeaks and rapid trills.