I was planning to go to Peru in 2022 but there were riots and road closures in the areas we were planning to go. So at the last minute I went back to Colombia and saw some other places.
Unfortunately, there was a lot of overlap, so I did not get a lot of new birds on the trip. However, many areas now have set up feeding stations and several were built for photography. I used the same guide Pablo Florez and I had my daughter with me on the trip this year.
However on the bright side, the setups for photography and the number of places that had feeders allowed me to get many improved photos of birds I had mediocre photos previously.
The tanager family (thraupidae) is another huge New World family of birds with 386 species currently. The range from the plain seedeaters to the gaudy Tangara genus of beautiful birds.
The 5" Bay-headed Tanager (Tangara gyrola) is a favorite of mine. On my first trip to the tropics in 1994 on a VENT tour to Costa Rica, it was the first bird I saw when we stopped the first morning. As it is on the cover of the guide book to Costa Rica I had been studying before the trip, I knew what it was. I have seen it many times since, but these are the best photos.
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| Bay-headed Tanager |
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| Bay-headed Tanager |
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| Beryl-spangled Tanager |
The 5.3" male Paramo Seedeater (Catamenia homochroa) is a small dark gray bird with a rufous undertail and a light bill.
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| Paramo Seedeater - male |
His cousin is the 5.3" male Plain-colored Seedeater (Catamenia inornata). It is a much lighter gray color. The females of both these species are brown.
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| Plain-colored Seedeater - male |
The mountain tanagers are larger than the tangara tanagers and of course are restricted to the higher elevations. We saw 3 on the trip.
The 7" Lachrymose Mountain Tanager (Anisognathus lacrymosus) is blue on the black, yellow on the underside with a black face and a tiny yellow tear under his eye.
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| Lachrymose Mountain Tanager |
His cousin is the 7" Blue-winged Mountain Tanager (Anisognathus somptuosus). He has a black face and back, mostly blue wings and tail and yellow below and a yellow nape.
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| Blue-winged Mountain Tanager |
And the last one is the 7" Black-chinned Mountain Tanager (Anisognathus notabilis). He is similar to the one above, but his back is green and his underside is orange.
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| Black-chinned Mountain Tanager |
I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing
David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com
photos copyright 2006 - 2023 David McDonald
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