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.
The New World flycatchers (tyrannidae) are the largest family of birds with 448 species currently. With the numbers of splits occurring, I would not be surprised if there will be 475 or even 500 species in the years ahead.
It is hard for me to remember which flycatchers I had photographed before. But I definitely know that this endemic to southwest Colombia was a lifer. The 7.5" Apical Flycatcher (Myiarchus apicalis) is a typical looking bird for that genus. It is probably the only genus I can recognize on sight. OK except for the Vermilion Flycatcher hahahaha. There are 3 of this genus in USA and 22 in total.
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| Apical Flycatcher |
The 5.5" Mountain Elaenia (Elaenia frantzii) is a typical drab flycatcher and best IDed by voice. That is why I always have a guide!
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| Mountain Elaenia |
The 3.8" Common Tody-Flycatcher (Todirostrum cinereum) is a widespread bird I have seen many times and I can recognize - the black cap, bright yellow breast and white eye.
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| Common Tody-Flycatcher |
Another I can recognize is the 4.8" Ornate Flycatcher (Myiotriccus ornatus). The bright yellow breast and gray head and the white dot above the eye are diagnostic.
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| Ornate Flycatcher |
The 6" Pacific Flatbill (Rhynchocyclus pacificus) is confined to the Choco region in Colombia and Ecuador. This would be another lifer as I had never been there before. The wide bill and gray eye ring are ID marks, but a guide who knows the voice is best hahaha.
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| Pacific Flatbill |
Tyrannulets are dimunitive flycatchters is several genuses. The 4.5" Black-capped Tyrannulet (Phyllomyias nigrocapillus) is a yellowish flycatcher with wing bars and a black crest.
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| Black-capped Tyrannulet |
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| Golden-faced Tyrannulet |
Chat-Tyrants are a colorful group of medium sized flycatchers. The 6" Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant (Ochthoeca fumicolor) has a brown back, black wings and a rusty breast.
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| Brown-backed Chat-Tyrant |
His cousin, the 5.5" Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant (Ochthoeca rufipectoralis) has a striped face, white belly and orange throat and wing bars
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| Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant |
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| Rufous-tailed Tyrant |
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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