Greater Wagtail-Tyrant

Rather large, overall bright green hummingbird of highlands. Favors pine-oak forest and edge, especially overgrown clearings and roadsides with dense flower banks. Fairly common and is especially conspicuous when singing. Song is a jerky, metallic, chipping song given tirelessly from an exposed twig at middle to upper levels in trees. When feeding often stays fairly well hidden within flowers. Note overall deep green plumage with dark violet cheek and breast patches, and broad dark tail band.

Small, chunky finch with thick gray bill. Male deep blue-black, female brown, both sexes with white underwings. Mostly found in pairs in the understory of spiny bamboo forest. Song a fast musical warble of four or six notes “pee PEEu pee PEEu peePEEuu.” Similar to Blue-black Grassquit, which is smaller with a more conical bill; also to Amazonian Grosbeak, which is larger with a bulkier bill. Little known, endemic to the southern lowlands of Venezuela.

An unmistakable, boldly patterned sparrow confined to the eastern Lesser Sundas. A brown songbird with a black cap, a black throat, and a bold white cheek patch. Has a brown chest band above cream-colored underparts, and a silvery-gray bill. Juvenile shows indistinct buff eyebrow, white throat, and reduced face patch. Flocks occur in a variety of open country habitats including scrub, farmland, and sparsely wooded areas, avoiding dense forest. Often mixes with other local finches. Gives a variety of chattering “chip” and “chup” notes characteristic of sparrows.