Bulletin 424 - Brazil 2023 #5 - Parrots - part 1

 After 3 trips to Colombia with diminishing returns, it was time to go further afield. Pablo Flores the guide in Colombia is now leading trips to Brazil as well. So my birding buddy Martin Jackson and my daughter Chantel and I decided to go there. We visited the Pantanal, the Atlantic forest in the Sao Paulo area and had 1 day in the Chapada. The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world, so it is teeming with wildlife. The Atlantic Forest is a unique ecosystem from sea level to about 1 mile elevation. It contains 800 species of birds (225 endemic) and 26 species of primates. Unfortunately it also contains 2 mega cities - Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and the resulting sprawl and clearing for agriculture since the Portuguese arrived 500 years ago, has wiped out 90%+ of the original forest. About 250 species of amphibians, birds and mammals have gone extinct in the past 400 years. The good news is that many preserves and parks have been set aside to try and preserve the remaining biodiversity.

Parrots are a favorite of many people, even who are not birders due to large size, colors and the pet trade. I had an impressive 13 species on this trip.

The 10.5" Scaly-headed Parrot (Pionus maximiliani) is mostly green with a large white eye ring.

Scaly-headed Parrot

The 12.5" Vinaceous-breasted Amazon (Amazona vinacea) is a green parrot with a light purple breast. It is listed as endangered and is included in the book - 'The World's Rarest Birds'. The population is estimated 600-1700 and is declining.

Vinaceous-breasted Amazon

His cousin, the 13.5" Turquoise-fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva) is a large green parrot with a turquoise forehead and yellow eye ring. 

Turquoise-fronted Amazon

At one lodge, a pair was nesting just outside the building and I happened to be right there, when the pair flew down to a bush at eye level. Here he is eating a leaf.

Turquoise-fronted Amazon

The largest parrots are the macaws. We had 4 on the trip. The 13.5" Red-shouldered Macaw (Diopsittaca nobilis) is all green with a light colored bill and a few red spots on the shoulder.

Red-shouldered Macaw

The 15" Golden-collared Macaw (Primolius auricollaris) is a green parrot with a yellow collar on the back of the neck which can be seen on the bird in front.

Golden-collared Macaw

Now we jump to the huge ones. The 34" Blue-and-Yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna) is an easy ID ands almost everyone has seen one in pet stores, zoos, tropical hotels etc

Blue-and-Yellow Macaw

The 40" Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacintinus) is the worlds largest parrot (but not the heaviest). It is an easy ID. I saw this bird in the Pantanal on my first trip in 1996. It was the avian highlight of the trip.

Hyacinth Macaw

They eat palm nuts and other vegetation fruit etc. Their powerful jaws allow them to eat nuts that other wildlife cannot deal with. An English naturalist, Henry Bates, in 1852 observed

"It flies in pairs, and feeds on the hard nuts of several palms, but especially of the Mucuja (Acrocomia lasiospatha). These nuts, which are so hard as to be difficult to break with a heavy hammer, are crushed to a pulp by the powerful beak of this macaw."

So here is a close up and can you see anything unusual about the bird? 

Hyacinth Macaw

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

I have photos of 55 of the 176 species of New World parrots

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2023 David McDonald

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

Bulletin 342 - 100 Birds to See Before You Die - # 3

I discovered this book "100 Birds to See Before you Die" by 2 Brits David Chandler and Dominic Couzens about 11 years ago while browsing in a bookstore on vacation. The sub title is "The Ultimate Wish List for Birders Everywhere". It sort of peaked my interest as a 'bucket list' of the rarest and most unusual birds in the world, according to the 2 authors.

It has the smallest (Bee Hummingbird)  and largest (Ostrich) birds, some of the most beautiful (Birds of Paradise) and some quite ugly (Shoebill) and strange (Hoatzin). There are birds on all the continents as well as Arctic and Antarctic regions. 

There are also a number of island endemics. In the south Pacific, there are entries for Hawaii (1), New Caledonia (2) , New Guinea (3), Sulawesi (1), Mindanao (1), and New Zealand (2). The Galapagos has 1 entry.  Madagascar has 3. The Caribbean is well represented with Cuba (1), Hispaniola (2) and Montserrat (1).

There are about 240 families of birds, so obviously they are not all represented on this list. There are 3 each of Birds-of-Paradise, Gulls and Terns, Cotingas, and Tyrant Flycatchers. There are several unique birds that are sole members of their family. These are the Hoatzin, Kagu, Oilbird, Crab Plover, Ibisbill, Wallcreeper and Shoebill, For those of us in North America, not a single New World Warbler is on the list.

Each entry has a full page photograph and facing page article of what makes the bird rare, unusual or interesting to warrant its inclusion.

This is the third group of 10 birds. The first installment is here. And the second is here.

Number 86 is the Paradise Tanager (Tangara chilensis). This very gaudy bird is what everyone thinks jungle birds should be like. It is a resident in Amazonia.

Paradise Tanager

Number 68 is the Golden-headed Manakin (Ceratopipra erythrocephala). These 3.5" birds are resident of northern South America. The males are black with a yellow head. the males perform elaborate dance displays on the lek to attract a female.

Golden-headed Manakin - male

Number 62 is the Little Forktail (Enicurus scouleri). This 5" black and white cutie is a resident along fast flowing streams in high mountains at an altitude of 5,500 to 11,000 feet in southest Asia. It is one of 8 species of forktails in the old world flycatcher family.

Little Forktail

Number 56 is the Pearled Treerunner (Margarornis squamiger). This brown bird with spotted breast is a common bird in the montane forests of the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia. I have seen it several times. It is a member of the ovenbird family.

Pearled Treerunner

Number 53 is the magnificent Blue-and-yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna). It is resident in Amazonia and south-central South America. 

Blue-and-yellow Macaw

Number 51 is the Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops). This 11" bird has a huge crest and long thin bill. It is a common bird across Eurasia and one of 3 species of hoopoe. The photos in the book show it with its crest elevated but I have not seen that yet.

Eurasian Hoopoe

Number 36 is the strange looking Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoatzin). This prehistoric looking bird resides along slow moving streams in Amazonia. It is the sole member of the Hoatzin family.

Hoatzin

Number 29 is the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock (Rupicola peruvianus). This is one of the 3 cotingas in the book and the most beautiful with his bushy crest and red and black with silver plumage.

Andean Cock-of-the-Rock - male

Number 27 is the huge Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus). It is the worlds largest bird of prey with a length to 50 inches, weight to 33 pounds and wingspan of 10.5 feet.

Andean Condor

Number 19 is the Oilbird (Steatornis caripensis). It is a noctunal bird related to nightjars, but it is a fruit eater. It is unique in its own family. They roost in caves during the day. This one was photographed in Colombia. It is a resident from Panama across northern south America and on Trinidad.

Oilbird

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2019 David McDonald

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

Bulletin 275 - Ecuador #9 - Parrots and Monkeys

Nothing says tropics quite like parrots and monkeys and we saw lots on this trip. All of these photos were obtained in the Amazon region.

The macaws are the largest and most spectacular of all the parrots and they are confined to the New World. The 36" Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) is red with yellow on the wings. This one was alone in a tree. The sexes are similar.

Scarlet Macaw

And this one was flying overhead.

Scarlet Macaw

The 34" Blue-and-yellow Macaws (Ara ararauna) were further away, but there were 1/2 dozen in a tree for a spectacular sight.

Blue-and-yellow Macaws

We also saw Chestnut-fronted and Red-bellied Macaws but I din't get good photos of them.
The ubiquitous 11" Blue-headed Parrot (Pious menstruus) is readily IDed with his blue head and green body. This is my best photo yet of this bird.

Blue-headed Parrot

The 8.5" Black-headed Parrot (Pionites melanocephalus) has a black crown, yellow cheek, and white underparts.

Black-headed Parrot

There were about 9 monkey species possible in the Amazon area at Shiripuno Lodge. We saw 7 and I got photos of 6 of them. The cutest were the Common Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri scureus). They are small monkeys with clown-like faces and black lips.

Common Squirrel Monkeys - adults

This lighter colored juvenile peeked out between some leaves.

Common Squirrel Monkey

Next is the long-limbed White-fronted Spider Monkey (Ateles belzebuth).

White-fronted Spider Monkey

The next was a new mammal for me. This group of small monkeys are called titi monkeys and are undergoing a major revision in nomenclature. The one we saw in Ecuador was the Dusky Titi Monkey (Callicebus discolor). However on Wikipedia, there is a new (2016) proposed classification and the new name is White-tailed Titi Monkey (Plecturocebus discolor). I guess take your pick what you want to call it.

Dusky Titi Monkey

The White-fronted Capuchin (Cebus albifrons) is one of 4 species of capuchins. This is the Ecuadorian subspecies that doesn't have any white on the face as the name would suggest. This subspecies is listed as critically endangered.

White-fronted Capuchin
Ecuadorian subspecies

The next is a type of monkey called a Saki monkey. Again it may have a new name. The name I was given on the trip was Equatorial Saki (Pithecia aequatorialis). However, a new revision in 2014 has the range of this one as just northern Peru, so not this guy. It would appear to be a Napo Saki (Pithecia napensis) as we were on a tributary of the Napo river in Ecuador. Anyway this is a heavy set appearing monkey with a very bushy tail.

Equatorial Saki
or ? Napo Saki

Lastly is a Venezuelan Red Howler (Alouatta seniculus). Howlers as you know are the heaviest of the new world monkeys.

Venezuela Red Howler

The other monkey I caught a glimpse of was a Wooly Monkey, but it scampered off into leaves before I could snap a photo. This trip was by far the most productive of monkey species of any I have taken.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2016 David McDonald

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