Top 20 Most Common Bird in Atacama

The rufous-collared Sparrow is a small songbird known for its pleasant vocalization and numerous "dialects." The songs peak at dawn and some individuals can sing continuously for half an hour. Found in a wide range of habitats and comfortable around humans, this ground-feeding bird is easily approachable. On the other hand, it's aggressive towards other birds that enter its territory. Individuals have their favorite perching spot where they appear repeatedly.

In German usage, the Perutäubchen has a similar sounding name. This species belongs to the genus Columbina. Even the salvage dove from the genus of American field doves is sometimes referred to as Perutaube.

Watch out for the small yet aggressive house Wrens; they are extremely territorial and think nothing of harassing other birds and their nestlings if they want to take their spot! They have been known to kill nestlings and even adult birds to get a nest hole they want. Once house Wrens lay eggs, the nest needs to stay below 100 degrees and above 65 degrees or the eggs will not survive—this could be the reason they are so particular about their nesting spots.

The croaking ground dove (Columbina cruziana) is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in western Ecuador, Peru and far northern Chile. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest.

The turkey Vulture is a common sight, especially around roads, where they keep a sharp eye out for roadkill. Seeing these large birds in the sky can often make you take a second look to see if it’s an eagle or a hawk. Here’s one quick way to tell the difference. When in flight, a turkey Vulture will circle unsteadily, with its wings lifted to make a V shape. Though they are not appreciated, they do the dirty work of the animal kingdom by cleaning up the countryside as they scavenge.

The Chilean mockingbird (Mimus thenca) locally known as tenca is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It primarily inhabits Chile's northern half, though there are sightings in Argentina. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and heavily degraded former forest. An example habitat is the dry shrub and forest of La Campana National Park.

Just as its name implies, the little house Sparrow socializes with humans more than any other bird species. Able to adapt and thrive in almost any habitat, excluding the extremes such as deserts and mountain peaks, this species was once restricted only to North Africa and Eurasia but now is found across the globe. Unfortunately, this opportunistic eater is not completely harmless—it can cause considerable damage to crops.

The Magellan Thrush (Turdus falcklandii) is a songbird from the thrush family (Turdidae).

This lapwing is the only crested wader in South America. The upperparts are mainly brownish grey. The head is particularly striking; mainly grey with a black forehead and throat patch extending onto the black breast. The rest of the underparts are white, and the eye ring, legs and most of the bill are pink. It is equipped with red bony extensions under the wings (spurs), used to intimidate foes and fight birds of prey. The rump is white and the tail black.

The common diuca finch (Diuca diuca) is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus Diuca. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest.

It has a total length of approximately 75 centimetres (30 in). The head, neck and lower chest are buffish, the crown and nape are cinnamon, the upperparts and (often incomplete) chest-band are grey, the belly and flight feathers are black, and the wing-coverts are whitish (though not contrasting strongly with the grey upperparts). The bill, throat-wattle and bare skin around the eyes are blackish and the legs are red. The similar buff-necked ibis is almost entirely restricted to warm regions, has contrasting large white wing-patches, a dark grey (not buff) lower chest, and its throat-wattle is smaller than in the black-faced ibis.

The Chilean swallow is about 13 centimetres (5.1 in) in length and weighs 15–20 grams (0.53–0.71 oz). It is glossy blue-black above and white below with a white rump. Its wings and tail are black, with white tips on its inner secondaries and its tertials. Their underwing coverts and auxiliaries are both grey. The Chilean swallow's bill and legs are black. The sexes are alike, and the juveniles are duller and browner. It is similar to the white-rumped swallow, but lacks the white forehead of that species and has bluer upperparts and grey underwing-coverts. In addition to this, the breeding ranges of the two have almost no overlap.

The harris's Hawk has a unique personality trait that sets it apart from other raptors. It is a social bird that hunts and nests in groups. Most females lay their eggs in the spring, but it is not uncommon for two or three clutches to occur when food is plentiful. The raptor primarily hunts small mammals, but juveniles are known to eat insects.

The grassland yellow finch (Sicalis luteola) is a small passerine bird. Despite its name, it is not a finch, but is a seedeater. These were formerly united with the buntings and American sparrows in the Emberizidae, but are now known to be tanagers. It is a resident in tropical South America, from Colombia south and east to the Guianas and central Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. Birds which breed further south in Argentina and Uruguay migrate to Bolivia and southern Brazil, (the cerrado etc.), in the austral winter. There are also isolated populations in Central America and Mexico. It was discovered on Trinidad in 2004, presumably having colonised from nearby Venezuela. Also known from Barbados, certainly since 1960 if not earlier. The grassland yellow finch, as its name implies, is found in fields and other open grassland. The female lays 3 brown-speckled pale blue-green eggs in a grassy cup nest in tall grass, and several pairs may breed close to each other in suitable areas. The grassland yellow finch is about 12 cm long and weighs 13 g. The males have bright yellow underparts and rump, and olive yellow upperparts. The crown and nape have dark streaking, and there is yellow around the eye. Females have dark-streaked pale brown upperparts and dull yellow underparts. The call is a sharp te-tsip, and the male's song, given from a perch or in a display flight, is a series of chips, buzzes and trills. Grassland yellow finches eat seeds and insects, and are usually seen in pairs or small groups.

The rock Pigeon is a wild ancestor of all domestic and feral pigeons, inhabiting coasts, cliffs, and caves. Pairs nest in rock crevices, often mating for life. They are known for their ability to fly very long distances to return to their homes, navigating using the sun's position and the earth's magnetic fields. Thanks to this ability, pigeons were used as messengers, particularly during World Wars I and II.

The tufted tit-tyrant is a small bird, averaging 9.5 to 11 centimeters (3.7 to 4.3 in) in length and weighing about 6 grams (0.21 oz). Its long, recurved crest is typically conspicuous and is often parted, giving the impression that the bird has two crests. The crest's feathers are black and emerge from the center of the bird's black crown, although occasionally there is a small patch of white hidden by the crest. The head is black overall with a white supraloral and postocular stripe. The bird's iris is creamy white to pale yellow and the bill is black. This tit-tyrant's back is a dull, grayish brown, and the wings and tail are a duskier shade of this color. The wings also feature two narrow white wingbars, while the outer tail feathers are white. The throat and breast are white and covered in dark gray to black streaks, which thin out further down the breast and along the sides. The belly is a pale yellow which fades as the plumage becomes more worn, while the bird's legs are black. Males and females are similar in appearance, although females are typically smaller and may have smaller crests. Juvenile tufted tit-tyrants are duller in coloration and have a shorter crest; the juvenile's wingbars are also buffy and there is no hidden white spot on the crown. There are few variations in plumage between the three subspecies. Anairetes parulus aequatorialis tends to be browner than the nominate subspecies in its upperparts, with broader and more extensive breast streaks and broader and more distinct white wingbars. A. p. patagonicus has more variation from the nominate subspecies as it is paler gray overall, particularly on the crown, and the wingbars and breast streaks are broader and more distinct. A. p. patagonicus's underbelly is also a paler yellow to white. This flycatcher has a loud, high-pitched song. It is also known to give a fast chuit-chuit-chuit-chuit-chuit-chidi-didi song, and occasionally single notes of chuit are made in a slow series of calls. When foraging in pairs, tufted tit-tyrants have been observed using a perr-reet call to stay in contact with each other. The species' contact call has been described as a pluit-pluit. The tufted tit-tyrant is also known to give a long, weak trill.

It is a stocky bird, 18-20 centimetres in length, with short wings and a red eye. The longish tail is black with a reddish base. The upperparts of the male are grey-brown with dark streaks while the crown and underparts are chestnut-coloured. There is a white bar on the wing and a pattern of dark and pale areas on the face. Females have buff underparts with brown streaks and have buff rather than white in the wings. They do not have the males' chestnut crown but may show a cinnamon wash to the forehead and throat. The song is a series of stuttering notes followed by a rasping trill similar to the noise made by a fishing reel. The finch-like bill is short and thick with serrated edges and is used for stripping off buds, leaves and fruits. Insects are eaten on occasions and are fed to the chicks.

The white-crested elaenia easily is recognizable as an elaenia by the combination of drab plumage (primarily dull green above, and whitish below); wings with conspicuous wing bars (pale tips to the greater and median wing coverts); slightly crested appearance, with a semi-concealed white center to the crown; and upright posture. small-billed elaenia, lesser elaenia and sierran elaenia cannot always be distinguished in the field. The length of the species ranges from 13.5 to 15 cm (5.3–5.9 in) and weight is 12.5–24.3 grams (0.44–0.86 oz), with an average of 16.3 grams (0.57 oz).

The name variable hawk is fully deserved, as both sexes occur in several morphs. Adults of all have a white tail with a contrasting black subterminal band and grey wings barred dark (in flight from below, the remiges appear whitish with fine barring and a broad black tip). The remaining plumage varies from very dark grey to whitish, and some individuals have reddish-brown to the underparts. Females usually have a reddish-brown back, which males usually lack, although at least some males also have this. The taxon exsul from the Juan Fernández Islands is far less variable, being whitish below and grey above in adults of both sexes. At least 27 distinct adult plumages are known in this species, possibly the most of any raptor (although the widespread red-tailed hawk & Eurasian buzzard have also been noted for a widespread but more uniform spectrum of plumage variations) with no relationship to morphometric variables and only minor geographic variation.

The black-chinned siskin grows to a length of about 13 centimetres (5 in). The male has the crown and the centre of the upper throat black. The rest of the head and the upper parts of the body are yellowish-olive streaked with black. The rump is yellow and the wings are black with two yellowish bars and a yellow patch on the primary feathers. The underparts are greenish-yellow and the belly is white. The appearance of the female is similar to the male but the colouring is more muted. She lacks the black on head and throat. The head and back are a greyish-olive above with pale yellowish-olive underparts and a whitish belly. The only other bird with which it is likely to be confused is the hooded siskin (Spinus magellanica); however, that bird is not found so far south, the male has a larger area of black on head and throat, and the female has a yellow rump.