Bulletin 283 - Colombia #6 - Hawks, Parrots, Toucan

Pablo Florez, the main guide, has co-written a book where to bird in Colombia. In it, he has a list of the Top 30 Most Sought-after Birds by a group of 40 birders visiting Colombia. I saw 12 of them on the trip and got photos of 10. When I show one of these birds,  I will mention its placement on the list.

One of the stranger things I have noticed in the tropics is the scarcity of raptors (except vultures). In Texas we have hawks everywhere and in winter, it is not uncommon to see a dozen or more in a mornings outing. I did get 3 hawk photos on this trip, but no falcons.

The first is the 15" adult Double-toothed Kite (Harpagus bidentatus). I had previously photographed an immature of this species. The black vertical stripe in center of throat is diagnostic for this species.

Double-toothed Kite - adult

The 24" Savanna Hawk (Buteogallus meridionalis) is beige overall.

Savanna Hawk

And the last was a treat. I have looked for this bird for years and finally found it. It is the 19" Crane Hawk (Geranospiza caerulescens). It is named for the very long legs. It is gray with a red eye and red legs. It was a lifer for me.

Crane Hawk

I also saw several new parrots on this trip and the highlight was the 18" Yellow-eared Parrot (Ognorhyncus icterotis). This bird was thought to be extinct, but a small population of 81 birds was discovered in April 1999. The area was set aside as a reserve. The problem with this bird is that it only nests in wax palm trees. These palms themselves are endangered due to logging and use of the fronds in Palm Sunday celebrations. But a national education program was developed and land owners encouraged to preserve the trees. Also, nest boxes were provided to supplement nest cavities. The population has since climbed to over 1,000 birds and it has been downgraded from critically endangered to endangered. It is bright green with a long tail and yellow cheek patch and yellow underparts.

This bird is number 3 on the top 30 list mentioned above. The guide said that most visiting birders normally only see these birds flying high on the way to or from their night roost. In the morning it was foggy and I could just see that they were parrots. However we went back in the late afternoon and it was clear and several pairs were seen a long way off on the palms. A pair did fly closer and I got this photo.

Yellow-eared Parrot

And then they landed in a bare tree not too far away.

Yellow-eared Parrot

Yellow-eared Parrot

The 16" Scarlet-fronted Parakeet (Psittacara wagleri) is a resident of Venezuela to Peru. I had seen and photographed this species in Miami where many parrots have been released or escaped. But this was my first occasion to see the bird in the wild. It is green with a scarlet forehead.

Scarlet-fronted Parakeet

The 7" Orange-chinned Parakeet (Brotogeris jugularis) is a small green parakeet with a white eye ring and hard to see orange chin patch.

Orange-chinned Parakeet

The 11" Bronze-winged Parrot (Pionus chalcopterus) is blue with bronzy wings.

Bronze-winged Parrot

Lastly is the 5" Spectacled Parrotlet (Forpus conspicillatus). It is green with blue around the eye.

Spectacled Parrotlet

The only new toucan was a far off 18" Black-billed Mountain Toucan (Andigena nigrirostris). It is blue and white underneath with a solid black bill/

Black-billed Mountain Toucan

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2017 David McDonald

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

Bulletin 245 - Ecuador #7 - raptors, owls and other non-passerines

I just had a couple of good hawk photos of new species. The first was a juvenile Double-toothed Kite (Harpagus bidentatus). This 13" raptor is IDed by the dark midline whisker below the chin. This bird sat quietly for a long time and was a puzzle. In my naivete, I told the guide I thought it was a Double-toothed Kite because I knew of the field mark and really nothing else about the bird. However, he agonized over it for a while before agreeing, as most juveniles are heavily streaked on the breast but just a few have plain breasts as this one does.

Double-toothed Kite - juvenile
Buenaventura Lodge

The other was a 26" juvenile Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle (Geranoaetus melanoleucus). This bird was soaring over the road as we drove between 2 lodges. As we stopped, he landed in a small tree just 50 feet above us. The juvie is brown with a darker chest. The adult would be gray with a black chest.

Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle - juvenile

I only saw a single toucan on this trip, the 17" Choco Toucan (Ramphastos brevis). It is similar to the larger Chestnut-mandibled Toucan and best IDed by voice. It is black with a yellow face and yellow and brown bill.

20

Choco Toucan
Buenaventura Lodge

Closely related to toucans is the small family (15 species) of New World barbets. I photographed my second and 3rd species on this trip at Copalinga Lodge. I think the best known is the 6" Red-headed Barbet (Eubucco bourcierii). The male is green with a red head and chest and yellow bill.

Red-headed Barbet - male

The female is very pretty too, but doesn't look at all like the male other than green body and heavy yellow bill. She came to the banana feeders at Copalinga.

Red-headed Barbet - female

The other species was the 7" male Gilded Barbet (Capito auratus). He is black with an orange throat and yellow underparts

Gilded Barbet - male

Puffbirds are a New World family of 37 species. My guide was able to show me 2 species, but we tried very hard for a couple of others, but no response. The 7" White-whiskered Puffbird (Malacoptila panamensis) is brown with white on the cheeks and orange breast.

White-whiskered Puffbird
Buenaventura Lodge

The 8" Barred Puffbird (Nystalus radiatus) is brown with horizontal barring all over.

Barred Puffbird
Buenaventura Lodge

I saw several species of doves, but the only notable one was the White-throated Quail-Dove (Geotrygon frenata). Quail-doves are very difficult to  see and photograph as they walk along the forest floor and are extremely shy. This is only the second species I have managed to photograph. However, it was a slam dunk as they have a feeder for them at Tapichalaca Lodge. Just a couple of minutes after putting the corn on the stump, the bird appeared and I could get photos from the blind.

White-throated Quail-Dove
Tapichalaca Lodge

The only motmot species was the 19" Andean Motmot (Momotus aequatorialis). This bird has gone through a number of name changes as it was part of the Blue-crowned Motmot complex and also know as Highland Motmot in the Birds of Ecuador. The blue crown and long raquet tail ID this bird. It is the only motmot at 1000 - 2100m elevation.

Andean Motmot
Copalinga Lodge

The 9" Coppery-chested Jacamar (Galbula pastazae) was only my second jacamar species to get on film.

Coppery-chested Jacamar - male
Copalinga Lodge

I saved my favorites for last of course, the owls. Pygmy-owls are diurnal and can be called in to the tape in daylight which makes them easy to photo if they land in the open. We caught the 6.5" Pacific Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium peruanum) on the first day as we drove to Buenaventura Lodge. Pablo Andrade, my guide, played the tape and sure enough a bird flew right in. They come in 2 colors, reddish and brown. Here is a brown one.

Pacific Pygmy-Owl

A short time later, a second bird flew in and it was the red one. My guide said he had never seen the 2 color morphs together previously.

Pacific Pygmy-Owl - pair

Lastly was the 15" Black-and-white Owl (Strix nigrolineata). This beautiful owl is one of the target birds at Buenaventura Lodge as a bird regularly comes to hunt insects under the street light in the parking lot. But he only appears about twice weekly. Finally on my third and last night there we heard him hooting, as we were finishing dinner. There is no ID problem but note the orange beak and feet.

Black-and-white Owl
Buenaventura Lodge

A moment before this, he had caught and devoured a large grasshopper. I consider this my most amazing bird photo ever as you saw in my favorites last week.

Black-and-white Owl
Buenaventura Lodge

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2015 David McDonald

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