One afternoon in Costa Rica, I caught brief glimpses of a distant white bird flying through the trees. It perched for a moment near the edge of the jungle, allowing me to get a quick photo of it before it flew off and disappeared among the shadowy trees. This fast-moving, white bird was a male Masked Tityra (Tityra semifasciata).

Male Masked Tityras are white with black around the eyes and a black forehead. The females are brownish. Both sexes have red at the base of the beak and around the eyes, black wings, and a black-banded tail.

Masked Tityras are fairly common and are usually found roaming through the forest canopy and along the edges of the jungle in search of fruits, insects, and the occasional lizard. These tropical birds are found from northern Mexico down to Peru and Brazil.