ルリオオサンショウクイ Cyanograucalus azureus

A beautiful, entirely blue thrush-like bird that can be surprisingly hard to make out in the dark subcanopy of tropical forests as it forages high above the ground. When seen well, it is unmistakable, with its entirely blue body, red eyes, dark face, and black bill. When it is backlit in the trees, look for its distinctive profile perched close to branches with relatively short legs and tail, and its generally unicolored appearance. Occurs in small flocks whose calls consist of hoarse, whiny “tchuwee” and terse “tchup” notes. Song is a piercing “puuuEEEEoooo” or “wheeEEEr” that can be fairly variable in pitch and length.