Bulletin 414 - Colombia 2022 #11 - Parrots, Owls, Doves, Porcupine

 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 mediocre photos previously.

We had 3 parrots on the trip and 2 were lifers for me.

 The cute 5" Spectacled Parrotlet (Forpus conspicillatus) is green with blue around the eyes. I had seen this bird on a previous trip, but still a cute bird to see.

Spectacled Parrotlet

The 9" Saffron-headed Parrot (Pyrilia pyrilia) is an easy ID as the whole yellow head in unique.

Saffron-headed Parrot

The last one was another 'amazing luck' bird for me. It is the 8" Rufous-fronted Parakeet (Bolborhynchus ferrugineifrons). It is listed as endemic and vulnerable. The only place to have a chance to see it is at the tree-line in one of the National Parks. Pablo said that he had not seen the bird in 5 years and not been able to photo it in 7 years. As we were walking along a road - a pair of them flew past in front of us and disappeared behind a hill. We could not see if they had landed or continued flying away. I asked the guide to play the tape just in case. Sure enough, the pair flew back and landed right beside us 20' away. WOW 

Rufous-fronted Parakeet

I photographed 2 owls for the trip. The 6" Andean Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium jardinii) is diurnal so much easier to find then most owls. I has seen this bird before, but this was my first photo.

Andean Pygmy Owl

The 8" Choco Screech Owl (Megascops centralis) is part of a 5 way split of Middle American Screech Owl. Although there is still some discussion among ornithologists about all these being separate species. Its range is the western slope of the Andes in Colombia and northern Ecuador.

Choco Screech Owl

There were 2 interesting doves on the trip. Quail-doves are forest doves that usually are secretive. The 12" White-throated Quail-Dove (Geotrygon frenata) is a brown dove with a gray crown and the characteristic white cheek seen in most quail-doves.

White-throated Quail-Dove

The endemic and endangered 10" Tolima Dove (Leptotila conoveri) occurs in the Andes in southern Colombia. The only sure place to see it was at the lodge we stayed where they feed them.

Tolima Dove

The most unusual sighting on the trip was the Bicolor-spined Porcupine (Coendou bicolor).

This smallish porcupine weighs up to 20 pounds and has a prehensile tail. Pablo, the guide, said this was only the second time he has ever seen it. He was the only new mammal for the trip but what a rare prize!

Bicolor-spined Porcupine

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

I have photos of 46 of the 177 species of New World parrots.

I have photos of 38 of the 226 species of typical owls

I have photos of 43 of the 332 species of pigeons and doves.

I have photos of 2 of the 16 species of New World porcupines.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2023 David McDonald

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