Worstbird

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.

Handsome, chunky finch of humid evergreen and pine-evergreen forest in foothills and highlands. Usually in pairs or small groups, feeding on fruit in canopy or seen in flight high overhead, when best detected and identified by call. Note the stout, pale greenish-yellow bill and contrasting black wings with a big white to pale gray panel. Male has black hood and yellow body. Female has black cap and dingy pale underparts.

Namesake white wing bars make this prinia relatively distinctive. Also note white throat, pale yellow belly, and black-and-white tips to tail feathers. Endemic to Java, Sumatra, and some smaller adjacent islands. Inhabits scrubby habitats, such as farm field edges and old plantations, as well as mangroves. Often seen in low vegetation, but forages at all levels of habitat. Sometimes forms small flocks outside the breeding season. Song is a twanging, repetitive “chwet-chwet-chwet” or “cheweet-cheweet-cheweet”. Calls include a sharp “chwit” and a harsh, nasal “jee!”

Chunky, bull-headed puffbird of lowland and foothill rainforest east of the Andes to far western Brazil. Underparts are pale with dark, vertical streaks. Also note stout, yellowish bill, and brown cap and back. Very similar to Eastern Striolated-Puffbird (limited overlap in Brazil and possibly Bolivia), but has thicker streaks on underparts. Singles or pairs perch motionless for long periods high in the canopy; usually heard before seen. Typical song is a whistled “wip wip-whirrr?, whurrrr”, with the other member of the pair responding at slightly different pitch.

A large, gray-backed wheatear of arid zones with a strong bill and short wings. Note pale-fringed wing feathers, broad tail with a dark brown terminal band, and pale cinnamon tail-base and lower rump. Male has a black face and throat and a darker gray back than the female who sports a cinnamon head. Nests in burrows in flat sandy or stony desert or semi-desert. Call is a dry “Prrt.” Song is a mix of deep flutelike notes and scratches.