Bulletin 410 - Colombia 2022 #7 - Puffbirds, Barbets, and Toucans

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 not so good photos before.

Puffbirds, barbets and toucans are closely related families of birds - all in the order piciformes.

We saw 2 puffbirds - both in the Choco region of Colombia. The Choco is the Pacific slope of Colombia and northern Ecuador. 

The 5" Lanceolated Monklet (Micromonacha lanceolata) is probably the smallest puffbird. It has a range from Costa Rica to Bolivia - but is described as uncommon and inconspicuous. I had seen it at least once before, but it was well hidden and far away, so I was unable to get a photo. Well this time I hit the jackpot. We were on the main street of the little village and the guide heard it calling. He played the tape and the bird flew and landed on powerlines right beside us. My amazing luck was working today. He is sooo cute. The guide book says he takes very large prey for such a tiny bird, including lizards and snakes! This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

Lanceolated Monklet

The 8" Black-breasted Puffbird (Notharchus pectoralis) IDed by the location and the wide breast band. This was a lifer for me.

Black-breasted Puffbird

The 7" female Five-colored Barbet (Capito quinticolor) was another target bird as it is endemic to the Choco region of Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. I did not see a male with the 5 colors, but at least I photographed a female. This was, of course, a lifer.

Five-colored Barbet - female

The 6" male Red-headed Barbet (Eubucco bourcierii) is a beautiful bird and an easy ID. I had seen it many times but not so close as at this location.

Red-headed Barbet - male

The 9" Toucan Barbet (Semnornis ramphastinus) is in a 2 species family between the barbets and toucans as the name implies. It is an easy ID with all the colors.

Toucan Barbet

At this location, the birds were being fed and they were excavating a nest in a tree 3 feet above where we were standing. Here is a photo the bird has with a mouth full of the wood from the nest hole.

Toucan Barbet

So now we come to the toucans, which are a favorite of many people - birders and non-birders alike due to their huge size and gaudy colors. All these were at places where they were being fed - so have amazing close-up pics.

The 13" White-throated Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus albivitta) is a green toucan with a white throat. It is one of the multiple splits of the 'Emerald Toucanet'.

White-throated Toucanet

The 14" Crimson-rumped Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus hematopygus) is green with a dark red bill.

Crimson-rumped Toucanet

And here he is showing his field mark.

Crimson-rumped Toucanet

The big toucans have been trained to come and eat grapes! Wow what a treat to see these birds almost within arms length.

The 18" Black-billed Mountain Toucan (Andigena nigrirostris) I had seen at long distance before, but this was amazing! These are my favorite photos, when I can see the individual feather detail.

Black-billed Mountain Toucan

His cousin, the 18" Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan (Andigena hypoglauca) was a lifer and we were watching, as they were being hand fed grapes by the staff.

Grey-breasted Mountain Toucan

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

I have photos of 13 of the 38 species of Puffbirds.

I have photos of 5 of the 15 species of New World Barbets

I have photos of 2 of the 2 species of Toucan Barbets

I have photos of 18 of the 43 species of Toucans

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2023 David McDonald

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