Bird Guide

Lanceolated Monklet vs Yellow-billed Nunbird

Lanceolated Monklet (Micromonacha lanceolata)

Lanceolated Monklet

Micromonacha lanceolata

Small20 gForest

The lanceolated monklet is 13 to 15 cm (5.1 to 5.9 in) long and weighs 19 to 22 g (0.67 to 0.78 oz). It is entirely warm brown with scale-like buffy markings above. It has white bristles around the base of the large bill, and white "whiskers", which are actually tufts of feathers. Its lores and a half ring behind the eye are white. The wings and the top side of the tail are dark brown and the tail's underside is gray. Most of its underparts are white with heavy black streaks; the center of the belly is unstreaked and the vent area has an ochre tinge. Voice: The lanceolated monklet's song is "1–5 high, thin, plaintive rising whistles, 'sewee ... sewee sewee-sewee-sewee’swee’swee', each slightly higher than preceding one". Its contact call is a "thin, high-pitched 'tsip tsip'".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Lanceolated Monklet
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Pichincha: Río Guaycuyacu, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: joel rosenthal from miami, florida, usa · CC BY 2.0
Yellow-billed Nunbird (Monasa flavirostris)

Yellow-billed Nunbird

Monasa flavirostris

Medium63 gForest

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

Photo: Patty McGann · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Lanceolated Monklet and Yellow-billed Nunbird.