Martinique Thrasher

An inhabitant of rocky highland meadows, this glorious pheasant often forages in boulder fields in early morning and late afternoon. Adult male a veritable phoenix, with glittering blue back and tail, flame-colored neck, glossy green head, and black underparts. Blue patch of skin between eye and bill unique among monals. Less colorful female streaky brown with pale skin around the eye. Male gives a whistle recalling a rusty door hinge and high-pitched piping calls.

Medium-sized pied woodpecker. Has a white forehead and a yellow or white throat and is grayish below with a barred mantle and tail. Note the often-concealed red patch on the crown of the male, absent in females. Found in dry forests, gallery forests, and montane scrub, usually in association with cacti. Call is a nasal “weep-weep.”

A dull and poorly marked prinia with a strong bill and a long, graduated tail. Light brown above with faint dark streaking. Pale below, sometimes with some dark smudging along the sides of the breast. In some areas, breeding males become darker on the face and the bill becomes black. Found at low and moderate elevations in open dry forest, shrubby grasslands, and forest or agricultural edges. Can be retiring and difficult to see in dense vegetation. Sings two different song types: a dry rolling trill and a repeated two-syllabled “tulip.” Separated from most other prinias by its plainness and lack of contrasting head markings. Most similar to Himalayan Prinia, but there is little or no overlap in range, and Burmese Prinia is distinguished by having less streaking overall, especially along the sides of the breast.