South American Painted-Snipe

A plump ground-dwelling dove with limited range in eastern Panama and barely into Colombia. Brownish above with a grayer breast, whitish face, and reddish legs. Namesake rufous crown is distinctive. Most common in foothills from around 750–1,600 m, but sometimes lower. Like other quail-doves walks stealthily on the forest floor, singly or in pairs. Perhaps most easily seen beside quiet trails early and late in the day. Heard more often than seen.

A large, unstreaked drab canary with facial markings, a white throat, and a yellow-green rump. A pale eyebrow and heavy bill further differentiate it. Pairs and small groups occur in a variety of arid environments including coastal heathland, Karoo, arid grassland, and thorn scrub, where they are resident and nomadic, wandering in flocks after breeding. The species has a typical sweet canary song including some imitations of other species, and the call is a distinctive tri-syllabic “speak-to-me.” The similar Protea Canary differs from White-throated Canary by having a black chin, a pale bill, and two distinctive wingbars visible at close range.

A small, sparrow-like canary with different-looking males and females. The male is chestnut, white, and black, with the black continuous from the nape to the spurs on the breast in the Black-headed group, and with the black areas mixed with white in the Damara group. The female has a uniform gray-brown head and a chestnut back and tail. In the breeding season the species occurs in pairs and small groups, but during the non-breeding season it may gather in flocks of up to 200 and may mix with other species. It is resident but nomadic throughout arid scrub, following rain and seeding events.