Lesser Wagtail-Tyrant

Tiny, chunky, sprightly warbler with a short tail and a big head. Strong head pattern: three bright yellow stripes on an olive green head. Overlaps considerably with other similar leaf warblers throughout non-breeding range, so identification warrants caution; always note strong head pattern, bright yellow rump, and overall bright coloration. Very active while feeding, often hovering to pick insects from leaves. Joins mixed-species flocks. Breeds in coniferous and mixed forest in the Siberian taiga, and winters in a wide range of forested and semi-wooded habitats. Song complex and prolonged, a beautiful rambling series of clinking, chirping, trilling, and warbling with many repeated phrases. Call is a twangy “jwee.” Vagrants often turn up in trees on coastal headlands.

A large owl of lowland and foothill forest, including secondary habitat and plantations. Warm brown with a heavily marked back, a heavily streaked rufous head and chest, and a more sparsely streaked pale belly. Note the square-shaped head with flattened ear tufts and the yellow eyes. Unmistakable. No other owls of similar size occur in its range. Gives a long, drawn-out, spooky whistled note whose pitch rises slightly, then falls at the end.

Dressed all in patchwork, this crested woodpecker is brightly colored and unmistakable; no other large crested woodpecker in its range has wingbars. Male has a faded reddish crest, an orange breast, and a whitish back with a warm buffy tinge. Female has a brown head and breast and a whiter back. Calls are sharp and strident, and can be given singly or, more commonly, as part of prolonged series in which pairs of notes are squished together to produce a squeaky-toy sound: “pee-pee-pee-peeyit-pee-pee-pee-peeyit!” Found in forests from lowlands up into hilly and montane areas.