Banded Woodpecker

Tiny, mostly green bumblebee-like hummingbird with a straight bill, glittering magenta throat, white chest band and sides of rump, and short forked tail. Female very different, with buffy underparts, dark brown ears, and unforked rufous tail with a black band. Found in cloud forest, edges, second growth, and gardens, with some seasonal movements. Often hard to see, but sometimes perches at the top of bare branches. In Andes, compare to the similar Gorgeted Woodstar; male Gorgeted has longer purple feathers on the throat, and female lacks green central tail feathers. At lower elevations compare with Amethyst Woodstar, in which the male has a longer tail and female has a whitish throat and black tail tipped with white. Restricted to Colombia and Venezuela.

Small and beautiful blue, rufous, and white kingfisher. Note the white stripe that runs across the center of the underparts all the way from the throat to the undertail. Found near streams and pools inside of rainforest. Secretive, solitary, and generally elusive. The call is a harsh “tshik,” often given in flight. Distinguished from similar kingfishers by the white belly stripe. Further distinguished from Malachite Kingfisher by its forest-dwelling habits.

A small, brownish bird with a thick, rounded tail. Note the black bill, the gray underparts, and the contrasting darker gray sides of the breast. The buff-breasted morph is less common and lacks any gray. Inhabits alpine scrub in the summer. Possibly winters lower down in the plains. The song consists of short clicks and buzzes. Extremely similar to Spotted Bush Warbler; the West Himalayan Bush Warbler is slightly paler, but best told apart by range and song.