After 3 trips to Colombia with diminishing returns, it was time to go further afield. Pablo Flores the guide in Colombia is now leading trips to Brazil as well. So my birding buddy Martin Jackson and my daughter Chantel and I decided to go there. We visited the Pantanal, the Atlantic forest in the Sao Paulo area and had 1 day in the Chapada. The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world, so it is teeming with wildlife. The Atlantic Forest is a unique ecosystem from sea level to about 1 mile elevation. It contains 800 species of birds (225 endemic) and 26 species of primates. Unfortunately it also contains 2 mega cities - Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and the resulting sprawl and clearing for agriculture since the Portuguese arrived 500 years ago, has wiped out 90%+ of the original forest. About 250 species of amphibians, birds and mammals have gone extinct in the past 400 years. The good news is that many preserves and parks have been set aside to try and preserve the remaining biodiversity.
The 7" Sayaca Tanager (Thraupis sayaca) is a blue-gray tanager found in lower elevations.
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| Sayaca Tanager |
The very similar 7" Azure-shouldered Tanager (Thraupis cyanoptera) is found in montane habitat. I do not know if I could tell them apart.
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| Azure-shouldered Tanager |
A third bird of this genus is the 7" Golden-chevroned Tanager (Thraupis ornata). It is an easier ID with the yellow shoulder.
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| Golden-chevroned Tanager |
The 6.3" Shrike-like Tanager (Neothraupis fasciata) is gray with black shoulders and a black mask.
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| Shrike-like Tanager |
The 4.8" female Blue Dacnis (Dacnis cayana) is a bright green bird with a blue head.
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| Blue Dacnis - female |
These next 3 birds may be familiar to many of you, as they have been established in Hawaii. But South America is their native territory.
The 6.5" Yellow-billed Cardinal (Paroaria capitata) is a handsome black and white bird with a red face and no crest.
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| Yellow-billed Cardinal |
His cousin, the 7.5" Red-crested Cardinal (Paroaria coronata) has a red face, throat and breast as well as a red crest.
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| Red-crested Cardinal |
Lastly is the beautiful 5.5" male Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola). He is an easy ID with an olive back, bright yellow below and a bit of orange on his forehead.
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| Saffron Finch |
There were a couple of interesting Texas birds in 2023. The first was this Merlin (Falco columbarius). I photographed him at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge back in February. What was unusual was his orange leggings. This is what caught my eye as I was driving along. So I turned around and went back to photo the bird.
I posted it on Texbirds and there was quite a discussion whether it was a Merlin or a Eurasian Hobby. I assumed it was a Merlin as I had never seen a report of the Hobby in Texas before. Anyway the final consensus was that it was a Merlin, as there are photos of some similar birds online. Interesting bird!
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| Merlin |
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| Grey-collared Becard - immature male |
David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com
photos copyright 2006 - 2023 David McDonald
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