Dusky-headed Parakeet

Medium-sized green parakeet with a dull gray head. Bright blue wing feathers are hard to see when perched but are conspicuous in flight. At close range, bare white skin around the eye is also diagnostic. Found in forest edge and other open forested habitats, often traveling in pairs or groups. Frequently found around towns and agricultural areas.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/duhpar
Photo Location: Ecuador

Small Buttonquail

Tiny quail-like bird that is actually more closely related to shorebirds. Intricately patterned above, with a buffy-orange breast and pale belly. Note black spots on the upper sides of the chest. Female is the better-marked of the two sexes. Found in grassy or scrubby areas, where it can be difficult to see; listen for female’s low sonorous moos, most commonly given at dawn and dusk.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/smabut2
Photo Location: India

Red Warbler

Unmistakable, active, bright-red little bird endemic to highlands in Mexico. Favors humid conifer forest, pine-oak forest, and adjacent brushy areas; fairly common. Usually in pairs, foraging at all levels, often moving with mixed-species feeding flocks. Cheek patch is white in central and southern Mexico and silvery gray in northwest Mexico. No similar species.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/redwar1
Photo Location: Mexico

Blue-winged Pitta

A beautiful, rainbow-colored inhabitant of tropical forests; often bolder than other pittas and occasionally seen in city parks, especially while on migration. Stunning, with green back, blue wings, orange belly, and black mask. Solitary outside of the breeding season; usually seen hopping around in leaf litter and turning over debris in search of invertebrates. Listen for its bouncy song, a series of loud “weuh-wheew!” phrases.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/blwpit1
Photo Location: Thailand

American Tree Sparrow

Hardy northern sparrow with plump body, small bill and long, thin tail. Note rusty cap and rusty (not black) eyeline, gray head and unstreaked grayish breast with dark smudge in center. Small flocks hop on ground, foraging for seeds, giving a soft, musical twitter. In winter, look for them in weedy fields with shrubs, forest edges, and marshes. Readily visit backyards. Rarely seen south of northern Canada in summer.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/amtspa
Photo Location: United States

Micronesian Megapode

A plump, mostly ground-dwelling bird with long yellowish legs, a dark blackish body, a tall light gray crest, a yellow bill, and a blood-red neck. Found in most habitats across the islands in its range, seemingly very adaptable. Local movements between islands frequently recorded. A loud species that calls often, most commonly giving a high-pitched squeaky “KEEK... KEEK KEEK” with a pause between the first and second notes. Unmistakable.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/micscr1
Photo Location: Palau

Galapagos Hawk

Brown hawk endemic to Galápagos. Adult is quite dark and may appear nearly black in harsh light; also note white barring in wings and tail, and yellow at base of bill. Juvenile is washed with tawny with darker brown spots on underparts. Rests on exposed perches such as treetops and boulders. Hunts on the wing and sometimes hovers in place while searching for prey.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/galhaw1
Photo Location: Ecuador

Opal-crowned Tanager

Blue-and-black tanager with a bright creamy-white crown and rump patches; otherwise deep blue with black patches from the tail to the head. Compared to the similar Opal-rumped Tanager, this species has a distinctive whitish crown and a blue (not reddish) belly; the latter can be helpful for identification from below as it moves through the canopy with mixed species tanager flocks.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/opctan1
Photo Location: Ecuador

Marquesan Swiftlet

A medium-sized swiftlet with a relatively long forked tail. Mostly brown with very slightly paler brown underparts and a more golden-brown rump and collar. Most common over rocky riverine valleys and humid forests. Similar to Atiu Swiftlet but is less contrastingly patterned, overall more uniformly brown, with a paler rump and a proportionally longer tail. Also extremely similar to Tahiti Swiftlet, but appears darker-faced and more obviously golden-collared. Vocally similar to Tahiti Swiftlet, with a voice consisting of insect-like buzzing and trilling.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/marswi2
Photo Location: French Polynesia

Large-billed Crow

A large crow that varies in size across its range; note its relatively long, daggerlike bill with curved top. Entirely black with a variable amount of glossiness. A frequent scavenger, feeding on carrion, leftover food from humans, and food stolen from other birds. Often gangs up to attack and chase other birds, especially raptors. Occurs in a wide range of habitats including woodlands, urban landscapes, agricultural fields, and open scrub forests. Call varies, generally a harsh or croaking crow.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/labcro1
Photo Location: India

Black-breasted Buttonquail

Dark buttonquail of forested areas with dense layers of leaf litter in southeastern Queensland. Heavily patterned, with pale and dark mark markings below. Female has a mostly black head, heavily marked underparts, and a pale eye (Painted Buttonquail has a red eye); male has paler face, pale eye, and is less richly marked below. When feeding, this species creates deep, circular depressions in the leaf litter; searching for the presence of these depressions is often the best way to locate it. Vocalizations include a repeated clucking call.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/blbbut2
Photo Location: Australia

Karoo Long-billed Lark

A large, slender lark with a long, thin decurved bill and long legs. Features can be variable, but generally the species has rufous upperparts, grayish coloration on the back of the neck, and a lightly streaked chest. As the similar-looking long-billed larks have separate ranges, location is a key factor in identification. This species strides purposefully through dry open shrubland, running quickly before pausing to dig in soil or pick at a shrub for invertebrate prey, seeds, or fruit. In a characteristic display the male flies low to the ground before flying directly up 10 to 15 meters, and then closing its wings and plummeting toward the ground while typically emitting a two-note “hit-seeeoooouuu” whistle, the second note descending. This call and similar ones can also be given from the ground. Most larks in the same range are smaller and more compact, with smaller bills and shorter legs.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/klblar6
Photo Location: South Africa

Southern Gray-headed Sparrow

A sparrow with a uniform gray head and underparts, a brown rump, mantle and wings, and a variable (sometimes absent) white wingbar below the shoulders. The bill is black during the breeding season and horn-colored at other times of year. Pairs and small groups are resident in a wide variety of natural and man-altered habitats. The extremely similar Northern Gray-headed Sparrow differs by having a darker head, a more contrasting white throat, and a heavier bill that is dark year-round.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/sghspa2
Photo Location: South Africa

White-collared Yuhina

Small brown bird with a flashy white patch on the back of an erect crest. Inhabits broadleaved forests and adjacent second growth, parks, and gardens in hilly and montane regions. Often travels in flocks, sometimes associating with other species. Usually forages at middle levels in the forest. Gives dry trills and buzzy whistles.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/whcyuh1
Photo Location: China

Dusky Crimsonwing

Small, dark member of the waxbill family. The back and face are red, the wings and tail black, and the underparts dark gray. Males and females are similar, though males have more red on the face. Immatures lack red on the face. Found in Albertine Rift montane forest, including forest edge and glades. Inconspicuous bird that is usually found in pairs or small groups. The call is a high-pitched “tsit.” Similar in size and overall coloration to Dusky Twinspot, but shows red on the face and none on the flanks.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/ducwin1
Photo Location: Rwanda

Bannerman's Weaver

A plain, mostly bright yellow weaver with pale eyes, a black face and throat, and an olive back and tail. An endemic resident of the mountains of western Cameroon and southeastern Nigeria, where it is found in pairs and small flocks, preferring forest and forest edge between 1100 and 2900 meters of elevation. Gives a harsh “schwit” call and a high-pitched song with a wheezy, rattling finale: “chet-che-chi-brzzzzzrrtt”. Male Baglafecht Weaver is similar to Bannerman’s, but has a yellow throat and a white belly.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/banwea1
Photo Location: Cameroon

White-eared Catbird

A large, shy, stocky bird of lowland and foothill forest interior of western New Guinea. A dark brown crown edged with black, contrasting with white cheek and throat, containing small black dots forming an uneven moustache. A messy, black collar joins the crown on the back of the neck and gets narrower to the throat. Chest and belly are buffy with large black spots. May overlap with Arfak Catbird, but White-eared is usually found at lower elevation, is smaller and has a white cheek. Call, a harsh rasping note.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/whecat1
Photo Location: Indonesia

Berlepsch's Tinamou

A very dark, chicken-like bird found in lowland rainforest in northwestern Ecuador and western Colombia. Plumage is dark gray, but can appear almost black in the shady rainforest understory. Legs, eye, and base of bill are reddish. No other tinamou in range has uniformly dark plumage. Shy and hard to see as it walks quietly on the ground inside the rainforest. Heard far more often than seen; its song is a short, high-pitched, descending whistle repeated every 10-15 seconds.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/bertin1
Photo Location: Ecuador

Tawny-bellied Babbler

Bright orange-brown babbler, brighter-colored than any similar babblers. Stays away from dense mature forests, instead favoring forest edges, open woodlands, dense scrub, and grassy areas interspersed with trees. Song is a short series of moderately-spaced high sibilant whistles. Call repertoire ranges from high thin notes to noisy yapping.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/tabbab1
Photo Location: India

Red-backed Buttonquail

Tiny secretive button-quail. Typically inhabits dense wet-grassland habitats. This species is very secretive, and most commonly observed exploding from cover and flying rapidly away - look for pale patches on the wings contrasting with a darker back and wing tips. Has a reddish-brown collar, yellow bill and clear black spots extending down from below the eye to the wing. Call is a soft repeated ‘oom-oom-oom-oom’ with the end of each note ascending in pitch.

Link: https://ebird.org/species/rebbut2
Photo Location: Indonesia