Worstbird

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.

This eastern counterpart of the Black-throated Thrush also breeds in montane areas and winters in lower-elevation areas on average. Males gray above and white below, with a brick-red throat and supercilium. Female paler, with more streaking on the breast and light suffusion of red on the face. Streaky and drab young birds can be difficult to distinguish from Black-throated; chestnut outer tail feathers and orange suffusion to the throat area indicate Red-throated. In areas of overlap, beware hybrids that may show features of both species. Pleasant song is simpler than that of Black-throated, and is composed of fluty whistles and trills. Calls include typical “chekchekchek” and high, thin “tseee.”

Tiny, round quail of lowland plains, grassy hillsides, and farmland. Generally uncommon and often glimpsed only briefly as it flushes from almost underfoot. Male gorgeously attired, with a blue head and breast, deep cinnamon belly, and neat black-and-white throat markings. Female brown with a paler belly and a plain face; compare to the strong white brow of the larger Japanese Quail. Males give a descending, plaintive whistle, “tew-tew”, and a raspy, snoring call.

A distinctive plump, short-tailed, long-legged terrestrial forest bird with a conspicuous red belly and a broad band of electric blue above that. Head brown and body green. Forages on the ground in humid lowland and hill forest and also in neighboring secondary growth. Calls both from the forest floor and from low perches in the understory. Gives a soft two-note whistle with a quivering, longer first note: “whoooyoop-woo.”

A slender tern with a short bill. Breeding adults are dark-capped with an ashy-gray body, a strongly contrasting white cheek stripe and rump, and a reddish bill and legs. In flight, underwings and uppertail are mostly grayish. In non-breeding plumage resembles other non-breeding terns, but note structure. Restricted to a handful of subantarctic islands, where it forages in inshore waters; common on Kerguelen and uncommon on Crozet and Marion. In breeding plumage, the larger Antarctic Tern is paler gray than Kerguelen, with a larger bill and whitish (not grayish) uppertail and underwings. Arctic Terns (in non-breeding plumage) only overlap with Kerguelen Terns (in breeding plumage) in austral summer.