Black-fronted Nunbird
Monasa nigrifrons
The black-fronted nunbird is 26 to 29 cm (10 to 11 in) long and weighs 68 to 98 g (2.4 to 3.5 oz). The adult of the nominate subspecies is mostly sooty black that is darkest around the bill (the "front"). The rear part of the body is blue-gray and the tail blue-black. The bill is red, the eye dark, and the legs black. M. n. canescens is slightly paler and grayer than the nominate. The juvenile of both is a dirty slate gray with irregular reddish marks. Voice: The black-fronted nunbird's song is " a rapid series of melodious upslurred 'clerry' or 'curry' whistles, broken by occasional downslurred 'turra turra' trill". It is often sung as a chorus by several birds.
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Yellow-billed Nunbird
Monasa flavirostris
The yellow-billed nunbird is 23 to 25 cm (9.1 to 9.8 in) long and weighs about 39 g (1.4 oz). The adult is mostly sooty black, with the belly tending to very dark gray and the tail being greenish black. The lesser wing coverts are mostly white and show as white spots on the closed wing. The bill is yellow and noticeably shorter than those of the other members of its genus. Its eye is dark and the feet blackish. Immatures are a slightly duller black than adults and the white areas are not as prominent. Voice: The yellow-billed nunbird's song "consists of full melodious lengthy phrases in choruses, typically including a frequently repeated 'wheekit-wheeyk, wheekit-wheeyk...'."
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where you might meet both
Learn this pair in the BeakBrain App
Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.
Play today's Daily BirdPhotos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Black-fronted Nunbird and Yellow-billed Nunbird.