Bulletin 299 - Guatemala 2017 #5 - Guan, Motmots, Quetzal and others

I went for a second visit to Guatemala at the end of May. Once again, I used the wonderful local guide Knut Eisermann of Cayaya Birding. On this visit, we concentrated on the western highlands and Pacific lowlands along the Mexican border, as several Mexican species just make it into Guatemala here. 

One of my target birds for this trip was the 33" Horned Guan (Oreophasis derbianus). It is resident in mountains in Chiapas Mexico and adjacent Guatemala at elevations 5,000 to 7,500 feet. In Guatemala it is listed as rare and local. But wherever you look for it, usually involves hiking up mountain trails a considerable distance. However, there is one place where you can drive up the mountain and only have a 150 elevation hike to get to see the bird. It is black with a white chest and a red horn on his head. What the use of the horn is I have no idea except a decorative feature. The sexes are similar and it was a lifer. We saw 3 or 4 different birds over 2 days.

Horned Guan

And a frontal view. He also has a whitish eye and yellow beak.

Horned Guan

We saw 2 motmots on the trip. The 10.5" Blue-throated Motmot (Aspatha gularis) is green with a blue throat and black spot behind eye and on chest. It does not have a racquet tail. This was my second time to see this bird. It is a resident of southern Mexico to Honduras.

Blue-throated Motmot

The other was a lifer, the 13" Russet-crowned Motmot (Momotus mexicanus) He is mostly bluish-green with a brown crown and a black spot on the chest. He does have a raquet tail. It is a resident of western Mexico to western Guatemala.  There are 14 species of motmot and he was the tenth that I have photographed.

Russet-crowned Motmot

The beautiful Resplendat Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) is a mythical bird of central America that even non birders want to see. It was sacred to the Mayan people and the Guatemala currency is called the quetzal. The male has very long tail feathers, but the female lacks them. We visited a quetzal reserve where they tracked a couple of nests. One pair had left already and at the second nest, the male had left a day before with the first baby to fledge, while the female stayed with the second baby. We watched her bringing food to the nest hole and feed the baby.

Resplendant Quetzal - female

Here she is by the nest hole.

Resplendant Quetzal - female

And here is the baby.

Resplendant Quetzal - baby

The only toucan we saw was the 14" Emerald Toucanet (Aulacorynchus prasinus). The Emerald Toucanet complex was a confusing group of birds as they were split into 7 species and then several were lumped back together after DNA analysis, so there are 4 species now from the original Emerald Toucanet of 20 years ago. This is the bird retaining the name and is a resident from eastern Mexico to Nicaragua. I had seen this bird in Belize on my first trip to the tropics.

Emerald Toucanet

The last bird was a cuckoo. We are all familiar with the cartoons of the coyote and the Greater Roadrunner. Many of us have seen the Greater Roadrunner in the southwestern USA. Well if there is a Greater Roadrunner, there has to be a Lesser Roadrunner (Geococcyx velus). He is very similar, but only 18" in length compared to 23" for his cousin. He is resident from Mexico to Nicaragua. He was another life bird for me.

Lesser Roadrunner

I have put the different bird families in single folders for easy viewing.

I have photos of 15 of the 55 chacalacas and guans

And I have photos of 10 of the 14 motmots.

And I have photos of 14 of the 43 trogons and quetzals.

And I have photos of 15 of the 47 toucans.

And I have photos of 13 of the 147 cuckoos.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2017 David McDonald

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

Bulletin 291 - 100 Birds to see before You Die - #2

I discovered this book "100 Birds to See Before you Die" by 2 Brits David Chandler and Dominic Couzens about 7 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 second group of 10 birds. The first installment is here.

Number 100 is the Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea). This is a small (14") tern that breeds in the Arctic around the world and winters in the Antarctic along the pack ice. They are a long lived bird 20-30 years or more and in their travels from pole to pole and back each year, they may travel 3/4 million miles. Because they spend the summer in the Arctic and winter in the Antarctic, they have perpetual daylight except during the migration. Thus these birds have more daylight in their annual cycle than any other animal species. They migrate through the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They don't appear in the Gulf of Mexico, so it is not a bird you will see in Texas. They are typical of tern plumage with a white body and a black cap on the head. The bill is described as 'blood red' and is the ID mark. This bird was photographed in Anchorage Alaska.

Arctic Tern

Number 92 is the Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta). This is a grouse of the high arctic across all regions, North America and Eurasia. They are adapted for the cold with feathered legs and feet. They have 3 molts during the year to camouflage the birds on the ground. From all white in the snow in winter, to brown mottled in the summer and half and half in spring as snow is leaving. This bird was photographed in Alaska.

Rock Ptarmigan - male molting

Number 82 is the Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata). This is one of 3 puffin species and is a resident of the north Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. It is black bodies with a white face, red bill and yellow tufts behind the eyes in breeding plumage. This bird was photographed in Alaska.

Tufted Puffin

Number 75 is the Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus). They seek out white water rivers in the northern hemisphere to breed....Alaska, Labrador, Greenland, Iceland and Siberia. The male has a gray head with several white patches. this bird was photographed in Alaska.

Harlequin Duck - male

Number 67 is the Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus). It is similar the common Cedar Waxwing that we see across North America. It breeds further north in the taiga forests of North America and Eurasia. It winters further south but they are very nomadic and don't always show up in the same place each year, thus it is hard to find.I did not see this bird in Alaska, despite looking on the tour. But I did find this bird in a flock wintering in Ely Minnesota by the Canadian border.

Bohemian Waxwing

Number 65 is the Broad-billed Tody (Todus subulatus). It is one of 5 species of Todies in the Greater Antilles. There are 2 endemic to Hispaniola. This 4.5" bird looks like a cross between a kingfisher and a hummingbird. It has a green back, pale gray underparts and red throat. The bill is red as well. I photographed this one in Dominican Republic.

Broad-billed Tody

Number 55 is the Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus). At 24 inches in length, it is the worlds largest falcon.Its range is the circumpolar in the tundra and taiga. Some move south in winter if food is scarce. They range in color from white to dark. The authors state the white one is the best to see, but all count. To see a white one, head to Arctic Greenland in summer or Iceland in the winter. brrrr. I photographed this bird on the nest about 50 miles outside Nome Alaska.

Gyrfalcon

Number 47 is the Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiaca). This large (26") white owl is a neighbor of the Gyrfalcon. Adults are pure white with yellow eyes. The juveniles have dark streaking on the white. I photographed a juvenile in Duluth MN in winter and this adult in Alaska.

Snowy Owl

Number 22 is the I'iwi (Vestiaria coccinea). This 6" bird is the iconic bird of Hawaii with red body, black wings and semicircular red bill. It feeds on nectar mostly of the Ohia tree. It is present on all the major islands and can be seen by most visitors if they take the time to go to native forest above 4000 feet elevation.

I'iwi

Number 12 is the Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno). This amazing bird was sacred to the native Americans in Central America. The male has long tail streamers. It is considered by many birders to be the most beautiful bird in the world and certainly up with the birds-of-paradise is beauty.

Resplendent Quetzal - male

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2017 David McDonald

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

Bulletin 244 - Best of 10 years #10 - New World tropics

The sheer diversity of birds in the New World tropics is staggering. 6 of the top 7 countries with the most species are in South America. Columbia is number 1 at 1934 species or almost 1 in 5 of all the birds in the world can be found in that country!  Brazil has 1850 and Peru is number 3 at 1844. Ecuador comes in at #5 with 1686, followed by Bolivia at 1431 and Venezuela at 1414. Indonesia is the only country outside South America to make the top 5 at number 4 with 1724 species. China and India are number 8 and 9. We all think of the wonderful wildlife in Africa and for mammals that is true, but the Democratic Republic of Congo is the only one in the top 10 with only 1186 species.

There are 2 'A' words to explain this..Andes and Amazon, leading to so many different ecosystems and habitats. There are several families of birds that are only in the New World tropics such as toucans, tinamous, trumpeters, screamers, antbirds and relatives, cotingas and many others.

I have had the pleasure of birding in Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador and Guatemala in the last 2 years. So here are some of my favorites from these countries. Many have already appeared in Bulletins, but a few from haven't yet. So here are a dozen of my favorites. All will be confined to the New World families unless noted.

Toucans are perhaps the best known family of birds from the tropics due to the breakfast cereal Fruit Loops that has a toucan as the mascot. My best photo is a Collared Aracari.

Collared Aracari

Parrots are worldwide, but the largest parrots are, of course, the macaws. They are confined to the New World. The only macaw I have photographed so far is the Great Green Macaw.

Great Green Macaw

Jacamars look like large hummingbirds with their long pointed beaks. Here is the Rufous-tailed Jacamar.

Rufous-tailed Jacamar

The motmots are plump birds and most are distinguished by a long racquet tail. Here is the Rufous Motmot.

Rufous Motmot

The cracidae family includes chachalacas, guans and currasows. The 36" Great Currasow is probably the largest. The male has a curly feathered crest and large yellow knob on his bill.

Great Currasow - male

The cotingas are a family of songbirds that contain several unusual looking birds. One of these is the Andean Cock-of-the Rock. The male is orange with dark wings and tail. He has a large crest and even his bill is orange and difficult to see in this photo.

Andean Cock-of-the-Rock

Tinamous are chicken like birds of the forest floor. Generally they are shy and difficult to see, but in Ecuador at Copalinga, they had a feeding place and blind so this Little Tinamou was in the open, 20 feet away.

Little Tinamou

Puffbirds are a family of large headed birds who sit quietly waiting to spot a lizard or large bug. This is the White-whiskered Puffbird.

White-whiskered Puffbird

Manakins are small colorful songbirds noted for there elaborate courtship dances in which several related males perform to attract a mate. This is the male White-collared Manakin.

White-collared Manakin - male

Antpittas are small tailless looking birds that walk upright on the ground. Generally they are exceedingly difficult to see. This Jocotoco Antpitta came to a feeding station in Ecuador.

Jocotoco Antpitta

Trogons and Quetzals are a small worldwide family of colorful birds. Most of them are in the New World tropics and the most famous and beautiful is the Resplendant Quetzal. The male has long tail feather plumes.

Resplendant Quetzal - male

New World Warblers are in the temperate climates as well as tropics of the New World. This Pink-headed Warbler photographed recently in Guatemala is the prettiest one I have yet found. The photo is made even more artistic as the sky behind the leaves was pink at sunrise.

Pink-headed Warbler

Lastly is a Black-and-white Owl photographed in Ecuador. This is my most amazing photo ever as the grasshopper in its mouth is facing the camera and in focus. It is my first owl photo with some prey in its mouth.

Black-and-white Owl

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.

Bulletin 227 - Costa Rica #7 - Trogons, Toucans and others

Trogons are a small (43 species) worldwide tropical family of colorful medium sized forest birds. 2 species occur in Southeast Arizona. 10 species can be found in Costa Rica.

The male Black-throated Trogon (Trogon rufus) is a 9" green headed bird with a black throat and yellow breast and bill. The long square tail is finely barred black and white. The eye ring is blue. The female (not shown) is duller with a brown head.

Black-throated Trogon - male

The 10" male Collared Trogon (Trogon collaris) has a dark green head, the belly is red and it has a white collar.

Collared Trogon - male

The female has a brown head and back.

Collared Trogon - female

The 12" male Slaty-tailed Trogon (Trogon massena) has a green head, red belly, orange-red bill and plain gray tail.

Slaty-tailed Trogon - male

Quetzals are 6 members of the trogon family with more elaborate plumages. The   male Resplendant Quetzal (Pharomacrus mocinno) is a 14" trogon with 4 very long tail feathers (up to 30"). This bird is considered by many to be the most beautiful bird in the world. It was sacred to the Mayans and is the national bird of Guatemala and their currency is called the quetzal. It has a green head and back, bushy crest, red belly and yellow beak. Notice also the green feathers that cover the wings.

Resplendant Quetzal - male

And a frontal view.

Resplendant Quetzal - male

The female has a gray belly and lacks the crest and long tail feathers.

Resplendant Quetzal - female

The toucans are a neotropical family of birds familiar to everyone because of their large colorful beaks. The sexes are similar. The Black-mandibled Toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus) is a 22" toucan with bicolored bill (yellow and dark brown). This bird flew to this bare tree at dawn each morning at La Selva, and played the role of a rooster to get everyone up.

Black-mandibled Toucan

Aracaris are smaller toucans with more pointed bills. the 16" Collared Aracari (Pteroglossus torquatus) has a whitish upper mandible, yellow belly and a band across it.

Collared Aracari

Toucanets, as the name suggests, are smaller toucans. The 12" Blue-throated Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus caeruleogularis) is green bodied with a brown head, a bicolored bill and blue throat.

Blue-throated Toucanet

Jacamars are another small (18 species) neotropical family of birds. They have long pointed bills and look like large hummingbirds. The 9" Rufous-tailed Jacamar (Galbula ruficauda) is green with rufous belly and undertail and a very long black bill. This is a male. The female is duller with a beige rather than white throat.

Rufous-tailed Jacamar - male

Puffbirds are another small (37 species) neotropical family of mostly black and white or brown and white birds. They eat insects and small reptiles or amphibians. The 6" Pied Puffbird (Notharcus tectus) has a black head and body, white underparts and a black band across the breast. These birds sit quietly are are very difficult to find.

Pied Puffbird

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.