Elegant Honeyeater

Enormous, ungainly ogre of a bird. Found around freshwater marshes and rivers in Amazonian lowlands. Dark gray and black overall with a scaly white neck and white belly. Named for the characteristic unicorn-like appendage on top of its head. Walks along river banks and perches in waterside vegetation, sometimes quite high. Honking song can be heard at great distances—a deep, reedy “ha-moo-co” often uttered in duet.

Medium-sized, strikingly patterned songbird endemic to Taiwan, where less common than Taiwan Scimitar-Babbler. Brown above, white below, with rich olive-brown flanks, rusty undertail coverts, and black “necklace” of blobby black streaks. Inhabits foothill and montane forests, where it skulks in undergrowth and shrubby edge. Pairs duet, giving bouncy-sounding hoots; alarm calls harsh and grating.

Small and rotund with intricate brown, black, and white patterning. Some striking variation in plumage across range. Most males, including those in the eastern U.S., have bold black and white head pattern and heavy white spotting on belly. In Mexico, males can be entirely cinnamon-colored below and have a fully black head; some might have a white eyebrow or a dark chest band. Females are more consistent throughout range: look for buffy throat and eyebrow. Pairs or small groups are found in scrubby fields and brushy woods. Usually on the ground, but occasionally perches in trees when singing. The only quail native to the eastern U.S., where populations are declining sharply. Listen for distinctive “bob-WHITE!” whistle.