Bulletin 282 - Colombia #5 - Wrens, Donacobius, and Thrushes

Pablo Florez, the main guide, has co-written a book where to bird in Colombia. In it, he has a list of the Top 30 Most Sought-after Birds by a group of 40 birders visiting Colombia. I saw 12 of them on the trip and got photos of 10. When I show one of these birds,  I will mention its placement on the list.

None of the birds in this bulletin are on the top 30 list, but several are very uncommon. or endangered.

The wrens are a family of small brown, usually secretive, birds with 86 species. All but one are in the New World. The forest wrens of Latin America in general are hard to see and photograph, so I was pleased to photo 4 new species on this trip and 6 overall. The sexes are similar for the wrens.

The first is the common 4" House Wren (Troglodytes aedon). This wren has the greatest range of any wren and can be found from southern Canada, all the way to southern Chile and several Caribbean islands as well. It is rather plain with just a faint eye stripe.

House Wren

The 6" Black-bellied Wren (Pheugopedius fasciatoventris) had his eye hidden by a leaf, but his distinctive white throat and breast and black belly are clearly seen. This bird has a range form Costa Rica to Colombia, but it was a lifer for me.

Black-bellied Wren

The 6" Chestnut-breasted Wren (Cyphorhinus thoracicus) is one of 3 members of this genus with the other 2 being the extremely difficult to see Musician Wren and Song Wren. This bird sang in response to the tape, but stayed very hidden down a slope. Finally, we found a window through the leaves  to get a photo. This was another lifer.

Chestnut-breasted Wren

The 4" Gray-breasted Wood-Wren (Henicorhina leucophrys) has a range from Mexico to Bolivia with several sub species that may be split in the future. It is rufous above with black streaked face and streaked gray breast.

Gray-breasted Wood Wren

His cousin is the extremely rare, endemic 4" Munchique Wood-Wren (Henicorhina negreti). After doing the research for this bulletin, I was delighted to have obtained a photo of this bird. It was only described as a new species in 2008. It has a tiny range in the cloud forest of the western Andes. There are estimated to be only 300 pairs and so is listed as critically endangered. It is one of only 16 birds in Colombia that have this rarest designation. This photo was taken at the summit of Tatama National Park.

Munchique Wood Wren

15 minutes after this photo, I got another lifer, the 6" Sharpe's Wren (Cinnycerthia olivascsns). This bird has a range from Colombia to Peru. It is plain brown all over.

Sharpe's Wren

The colorful 8" Black-capped Donacobius (Donacobius atricapilla) was formerly placed in the wren family, but now it has been moved to its own family. It is described as a vocal and noisy bird, more often heard than seen. I have seen it on a number of birding trips. The black cap, dark brown back and tail, beige underparts and yellow eye, make this bird an easy ID.

Black-capped Donacobius

Thrushes are familiar birds to everyone and in USA and Canada, the American Robin is the classic thrush. There are 165 species worldwide. The 12" Great Thrush (Turdus fuscater) has a range from western Venezuela to western Bolivia. It is dark gray with a bright orange bill and feet. It is large, common and easy to see.

Great Thrush

The 8.5" Black-billed Thrush (Turdus ignobilis) is the most common thrush is Colombia and occurs in open areas, towns etc, so is easily seen. It is brown above and grayish below.

Black-billed Thrush

This 9" Pale-breasted Thrush (Turdus leucomelas) was on her nest right beside the road we were walking along. It is gray brown above and gray below with a yellow bill.

Pale-breasted Thrush - on nest

The last bird is the 8" Black Solitaire (Entomodestes coracinus). This bird is black with a distinctive white cheek patch. Its range is Colombia to Ecuador in the western Andes. It is described as shy, solitary and heard more often than seen. In Hilty's 1986 guide book, he states that this bird is 'inordinately wary and difficult to see and usually only is glimpsed as it flies rapidly across small forest openings'. This bird was also at the summit of Tatama National Park. The guide heard one fly close and it landed. There was a window and I got a single photo before it left. The guide still has no photo of this bird. The guide told me that a previous birder spent an entire day looking for this bird and never saw it. So my birding luck continues to be outstanding. Needless to say, this was another lifer.

Black Solitaire

I have updated the thrush family photos and have 35 of the 180 species here.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2016 David McDonald

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Bulletin 219 - Costa Rica #2 - Wrens and Guans

I really enjoy wrens, Yes, they are mostly LBJs (little brown jobs) but they always seen so active and industrious. The forest wrens of the tropics are fiendishly difficult to even see, let alone photograph. So I was really pleased that my guides were able to find a number for me. In all wrens, the sexes are similar unless noted.

The first day, on the way from San Jose to La Selva, we found this 4" Ochraceous Wren (Troglodytes ochraceous) in the vines coiled around a tree as we were looking at some tanagers in the trees. It was pure luck as I just saw the movement and got a photo of the bird at eye level.

Ochraceous Wren

The next day at La Selva, there were a pair of Band-backed Wrens (Campylorhynchus zonatus) nesting in some bromeliads on a tree trunk just outside the dining hall. The 7" bird is the same genus and similar to the Cactus Wren in the southwestern USA. Notice that their proximity to all the researchers has them both banded.

Band-backed Wren pair

At La Selva, in the woods, we found a Black-throated Wren (Pheugopedius atrogularis). This 6" wren is all dark brown except for the black throat.

Black-throated Wren

The last wren at La Selva was this 5" Stripe-breasted Wren (Cantorchilus thoracicus).It has a brown back and streaked face, throat and breast.

Stripe-breasted Wren

At Savegre Lodge in the mountains, a pair of Gray-breasted Wood-wrens (Henicorhina leucophrys) were making a home.This 4" wren has a dark brown back, gray breast and streaked face.

Gray-breasted Wood-wren

We had to to the paramo (scrub above the tree line at 11,000 feet elevation) to find the 4" Timberline Wren (Thyrochilus browni).The dots on the wings and white edging of the primaries are diagnostic.

Timberline Wren

The last one was the common 4" House Wren (Troglodytes aedon). This bird is a permanent resident throughout Costa Rica except on the paramo.

House Wren

The Cracidae family of birds is a New World family of large chicken-like game birds including chachalacas, guans and the most intriguing, curassows. These birds are hard to find except where protected from hunting in sanctuaries, national parks etc.

I had seen the Black Guan (Chamaepetes unicolor) on my first trip to Costs Rica in 1994 on the first morning of the trip. I definitely wanted to see it and get a photo this time. It is a resident of the mountains and IDed by blue facial skin, red legs and all black body. We found a pair on the first day as we drove over the mountains from San Jose to La Selva on the Caribbean lowlands.

Black Guan

At La Selva, they had lots of 35" Crested Guans (Penelope purpurascens) and we saw several every day. I like the genus name of this bird. It is all brown with a crest and red skin on throat.

Crested Guan

The last is the 36" Great Curassow (Crax rubra). I remember this bird well from my first birding trip to the tropics to Belize in 1993. The male is all black with a white belly, and a yellow knob on his face and a curly punk rock crest. The female is brown but we didn't see her. This bird was also seen at La Selva.

Great Curassow - male

A close-up of his head shows the curly crest feathers and the peculiar yellow knob.

Great Curassow - male

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2015 David McDonald

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