Bulletin 389 - Colombia 2021 #6 - Antbirds - Part 1

I finally made it back to Colombia for my second visit and again used the guide services of Pablo Florez. I went with my friend Martin Jackson. We visited Inirida on the Orinoco, Santa Marta of course, Guajira Peninsula on the Caribbean coast, and a couple of National Parks around Bogota.

As my neotropical adventures continue, I appreciate the antbird more and more. Many of the species are secretive and difficult to see well, let alone photograph. But then when I do see a new one and get a photo, it is exciting.

The antshrikes are usually the easiest to see and photograph as they are usually 10' or more up in a tree. I photographed 6 species of antshrikes - so I can devote a bulletin to them. One was a species I had seen several times and never was able to photograph, but this trip I was successful. And one species is special as you will see.

The 6" male Amazonian Antshrike (Thamnophilus amazonicus) is gray with black wings and spots on the shoulders.

Amazonian Antshrike - male

The female has an orange head and breast - and the rest resembles the male.

Amazonian Antshrike - female

The 6" male Black-crowned Antshrike (Thamnophilus atrinucha) is a gray bird with a short black crest. This bird was previously named the Western Slaty Antshrike. You can see how similar these birds are and the only way to tell for sure is by the voice.

Black-crowned Antshrike - male

The 6" female Black-backed Antshrike (Thamnophilus melanonotus) is a nondescript pale brown bird.

Black-backed Antshrike - female

The 6.5" male Black-crested Antshrike (Sakephorus canadensis) in unmistakable with his tall bushy crest. Notice the scientific name - canadensis. I wondered how was this bird was associated with Canada?? The range is northern South America. Well it was first described in 1760 and the ornithologist mistakenly believed the specimen had been collected in Canada. Haha

Black-crested Antshrike - male

The female is brown with the same bushy crest.

Black-crested Antshrike - female

The one I had missed photos before was the 8" Great Antshrike (Taraba major). The male is a striking black and white bird with a bright red eye. It is unmistakable.

Great Antshrike - male

The last one was exciting to see and it is new to science and not named yet. It was discovered by our guide Pablo Florez several years ago and the scientific write-up has been done and it should be named next year. He called it the Mystery Antshrike but I prefer Inirida Antshrike as that is the locale where we saw it.

 Inirida Antshrike

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 29 of the 238 species of antbirds

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2021 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.

Bulletin 388 - Colombia 2021 #5 - Shorebirds, Cuckoos

I finally made it back to Colombia for my second visit and again used the guide services of Pablo Florez. I went with my friend Martin Jackson. We visited Inirida on the Orinoco, Santa Marta of course, Guajira Peninsula on the Caribbean coast, and a couple of National Parks around Bogota.

I finally found my target plover in northern Latin America. I have had multiple trips and never even saw this common bird, let alone get a photo. The 6" Collared Plover (Charadius collaris) is similar to our small plovers, but ours all have a white nape. This one has a rufous nape of the neck to distinguish it, as many of ours are migrants to South America. I finally saw it on the coast where we saw the flamingos - just 1 bird but enough to check it off! I spent 20 minutes trying to make sure I got an identifiable photo of this bird.

Collared Plover

The other plover was the beautiful 14" Southern Lapwing (Vanellus chilensis). I had photographed this bird previously, but lapwings are beautiful long legged plovers and I enjoy seeing them.

Southern Lapwing

Another small family of shorebirds is the thick-knees. This family of 10 species has 2 in the Americas. I had a distant photo of this bird before, but improved with several in a field along the road. The 18" Double-striped Thick-knee (Burhinus bistriatus) is the only thick-knee in this area. 

Double-striped Thick-knee

Jacanas are another small family of shorebirds with 2 in the New World. The 9" Wattled Jacana (Jacana jacana) is the southern one. We were able to get very close, in the boat, to a bird walking on the floating weeds. It is has rufous wings and back with a black head, neck and breast and red wattles. It is an easy ID.

Wattled Jacana

I photographed 3 cuckoos on the trip, 2 of which were lifers for me. The 18" Greater Ani (Crotophaga major) is an all black bird with a long tail and large bill.

Greater Ani

The 2 new ones were the 11" Dark-billed Cuckoo (Coccygus melacoryphus). It is similar to our Black-billed Cuckoo, but it has a tawny breast.

Dark-billed Cuckoo

The other lifer was the 11" Little Cuckoo (Coccycua minuta). This is a small rufous cuckoo with a yellow bill.

Little Cuckoo

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 30 of the 67 species of Plovers and Lapwings

I have photos of 3 of the 10 species of Thick-knees

I have photos of 5 of the 8 species of Jacanas

I have photos of 25 of the 148 species of Cuckoos

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2021 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.