Worstbird

Medium-sized hummingbird, mostly dark green with obvious buffy underwing and mostly buffy tail. Fairly short, straight bill. Sexes similar. Found in cloud forest from Venezuela to Ecuador, mostly from 1,500–2,400 m. Usually forages in middle to upper levels of trees. Visits feeders, where it aggressively defends its territory against other hummingbirds.

A tiny stub-tailed green parrot with a golden-bronze back, a narrow red throat, a bright red rump, and a small red shoulder patch. Juveniles are duller and more poorly marked. Singles or small groups occur within treetops of forest and nearby secondary growth areas in the lowlands. No other tiny green, short-tailed parrot occurs within its limited range in the Sula and Banggai islands. Very high-pitched calls include “zeet-weet-wit,” rising in pitch at the end. Sometimes birds only utter the first two notes or single “zeet” notes.

Small antwren of dense foothill forests. Male is grayish with the black speckled throat that gives this group of antwrens their name. Note also the bold whitish wingbars, and brown flanks, rump, and tail. Females are entirely tan with bold wingbars. Forages in the understory of mature forest, often in mixed-species flocks. Song is a rising-falling series of high pitched notes.

A medium-sized, short-tailed bird of montane forest. All black plumage with iridescence on the head, fairly long bill and a distinctive, yellow wattle between the eye and the bill. Note the blue line below the base of the mouth. Feeds on fruit but also probes mossy branches for insects. Similar in size and shape to the male Loria’s Satinbird but Short-tailed Paradigalla has its unique yellow wattle. Voice, a long, mournful, monotone whistle.

Beautifully patterned cryptic nightjar. Found mainly inside of eastern and northern Madagascar rainforest, though very locally in dry forest. Most often seen when located by local guides, sleeping on the forest floor during the day, usually below a pandanus. Apparently completely silent, which is bizarre for a member of the nightjar family. When perched, distinguished from Madagascar Nightjar by its rufous collar; in flight, by its lack of white in the wings.

A large, slender warbler with a disproportionately long bill, short wings, and a long tail. Face and eyebrow yellowish-buff with a dark eye-stripe and a pale throat. Upper body and wings mostly dark with pale edges to feathers, giving a messy mottled appearance. Some birds are much paler, often almost entirely white with some mottling. An entirely dark sooty morph occurs. Found in riverine and hillside forest with stands of bamboo up to 600 meters of elevation. Song is a long, slow sequence of warbled phrases and “churr” notes. Calls include harsh churring and “tchak” notes.

A tiny, chubby woodpecker that frequents a wide variety of wooded habitats including mangroves. More prone to feed on small branches, even vines, than are larger woodpeckers. Olive-brown above and streaked below, unlike any other species in its range. Male has red on crown that female lacks. Its call is a loud burst of rapid liquid chatter.

Cryptic nightbird. Note silvery gray and brown coloration; intricate patterning more distinct than that of shorter-winged Savanna Nightjar. Roosts on the ground and in trees. Breeds in open areas within dense forests, as well as mountain ridges. Winters in similar habitat, but can also be found in more open areas such as forest edge and scrubland. Song is a long series of hollow “byuck” notes, like the firing of a cartoon laser gun.

Large, drab, streaky sparrow of grasslands, second growth, and bare ground. Most distinctive in flight, when it flashes white outer tail feathers. Also note the thin white eyering and rufous shoulder (often hidden). Forages mainly on the ground. Song usually starts with a couple clear introductory notes, followed by a series of trills and chips.

An ebony shadow trailing obsidian tresses. Medium-sized drongo with two extravagantly long tail feathers tipped with plumes, the shape of which vary throughout its range. Glossy black overall with red eyes. Juvenile duller and lacks streamers. Can be confused with the larger Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, but Lesser is crestless and oddly flat-headed, with a more square-ended tail. Inhabits mid- to high-altitude tropical forests, where it forages primarily under closed canopies, not venturing out into the open as frequently as Greater Racket-tailed. Joins mixed flocks. Impressive vocal range, giving highly variable songs that include bouncy hoots, ringing whistles, and harsh nasal notes, among others; also mimics other species.

Fairly large and distinctive woodcreeper. Much more boldly marked than any other woodcreeper in range: obvious thick white streaking above and below. Found singly or in pairs, usually in forest, where you might see it hitching up the lower part of a tree trunk. Often follows mixed-species flocks. Listen for voice, a clear descending series of notes, usually stuttered at the beginning.

A handsome little bird with a stain the color of dried blood on its throat and lores. Bright yellow overall with black-and-silver eye rings and wingbars. Like most other shrike-babblers, tends to be rather slow and not particularly acrobatic, often trailing along on the edges of mixed flocks in hilly and submontane broadleaf forests. Gleans insects from foliage with a finely-hooked silvery bill. Gives a strong, insistent, and repetitive “wiCHE, wiCHE, wiCHE, wiCHE.”

A fairly small, short-tailed bird of forest floor or understory from the lowlands to low elevations in the mountains of Palawan and Balabac. Rufous-brown on the back, wings, and tail, with a white throat and belly and pale orange across the chest, down the sides, and under the base to the tail. Note the gray head and the thin black moustache stripe. Somewhat similar to Palawan Babbler, but smaller, with a much shorter tail, and is found on or near the ground. Song includes a sequence of downslurred, raspy nasal notes.

A large antshrike with a spiky crest, an often partially concealed white wingbar, and a white-tipped tail. Males are entirely glossy black while females have a chestnut crest. Inhabits the understory of seasonally and permanently flooded forest with vine tangles and dense thickets, where its far-carrying song, an accelerating series of “tah” notes, rings out. Normally forages in pairs and occasionally accompanies mixed-species flocks.

Elusive, chickenlike rail of mangroves, less often occurs in freshwater marshes. Slightly smaller than a Common Gallinule. Usually seen walking among mangrove roots, at times coming out in the open on muddy flats. Like most rails, can be trusting if you watch quietly and don’t move. Note bright rusty neck and breast, black flanks and undertail coverts, long yellowish bill, and pink legs (often sullied by mud).