Bulletin 387 - Colombia 2021 #4 - Warblers, Donacobius, Cardinal

  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.

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range in northeast Colombia is the tallest coastal mountain range in the world and the tallest peak in Colombia. It is the most important area of endemism in the world with about 27 endemic species of birds. There are 3 warblers, 4 hummingbirds, and 2 sparrows among others. Naming them often leads to a Santa Marta species and another one Sierra Nevada same species. If a bird has either of these names, it is in the Santa Marta mountain range and endemic.

We saw all 3 endemic warblers, but I was unable to photo the Santa Marta Warbler as it is a skulker. The next 2 photos are Santa Marta endemics. The 5.5" White-lored Warbler (Myiothlypis conspicillatus) has an olive back, yellow breast and gray head with white eye-ring.

White-lored Warbler

The 5" Yellow-crowned Whitestart (Myioborus flavivertex) has a black face, all yellow below and yellow cap with white under the tail.

Yellow-crowned Whitestart

The 5" Slate-throated Whitestart (Myioborus miniatus) has a gray head, back and throat and a yellow belly. It is a potential split as the birds in northern Central America have a rusty belly.

Slate-throated Whitestart

Another potential split is the 5" Golden-fronted Whitestart (Myioborus ornatus). This bird is gray above, has a yellow cap and underparts and a white face. The birds in the western Andes, I photographed on my previous Colombia trip, have a yellow face.

Golden-fronted Whitestart

A new warbler name for many of you is the 5" Chestnut-capped Warbler (Basileuterus delattrii). This was split from the Rufous-capped Warbler in July 2021 - just before my trip.

Chestnut-capped Warbler

The 8" Black-capped Donacobius (Donacobius atricapilla) is a bird that resembles a large wren and used to be included in the wren family. But now it is the only member of its own family. It is described as a skulker - more often heard than seen, but this bird landed right beside our boat, to give me my best ever photo of the species. It is an easy ID with the bright yellow eye.

Black-capped Donacobius

The 7.5" male Vermilion Cardinal (Cardinalis phoenicius) looks like our Northern Cardinal but with a taller crest and a white bill.

Vermilion Cardinal - male

The female is also similar to our female Northern Cardinal - but paler and with a white bill.

Vermilion Cardinal - female

We also saw the Rose-breasted Chat, another member in the cardinal family, in the Amazon portion of the trip - but I was unable to gat a photo.

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

I have photos of 77 of the 120 species of New world warblers.

I have photos of 30 of the 53 species of cardinals.

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 386 - Colombia 2021 #3 - Water Birds

 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.

Much of the trip was on or near the water - in the Orinoco basin, Caribbean coast and some mountain lakes and streams. We did see a lot of herons, egrets and ducks that we have in the USA, so I did not bother to photograph them. So here are the more interesting ones. The first 3 were in the Orinoco part of the trip.

The 17" Large-billed Tern (Phaetusa simplex) was the only gull or tern we saw in the Orinoco region which was very surprising to me.

 Large-billed Tern

The beautiful 21" Capped Heron (Pilherodius pileatus) with his long plumes and blue face, he is an easy ID.

Capped Heron

Lastly is the peculiar 24" Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin). This prehistoric looking bird is endemic to Amazonia. It is the only bird in its family.

Hoatzin

The 2 interesting ducks were in the Andes. The  18" Andean Teal (Anas andium) is a gray brown bird on paramo lakes

Andean Teal

The exciting duck was a close encounter with the 16" Torrent Duck (Merganetta armata). We stopped on a bridge across a 30' stream where the guide had seen the ducks before. Well as luck would have it, the pair was about 30 yards upstream from the bridge. As we watched, they swam and drifted down until they were right below us.

Torrent Duck

The last 3 birds were on the Caribbean coast in northeastern Colombia. There is a flamingo preserve, but at the time of year we were there, we were lucky to find a half dozen birds. Here is an adult 47 " American Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber).

American Flamingo

and a juvenile.

American Flamingo - juvenile

The 24" Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber) is white as a juvenile and then gets his color as he matures. There is some question if the White Ibis and this species are a single species. Time will tell as details are worked out.

Scarlet Ibis

The last was the 39" Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens). This is an immature with all the white. It is always a treat to see these pelagic birds.

Magnificent Frigatebird - juvenile

We also saw a Parasitic Jaeger but I did not get a photo. It seems so far south for that species.

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.