Bulletin 390 - Colombia 2021 #7 - Parrots

 I finally made it back to Colombia for my second visit and again used the guide services of Pablo Florez. I went with my friend Martin Jackson. We visited Inirida on the Orinoco, Santa Marta of course, Guajira Peninsula on the Caribbean coast, and a couple of National Parks around Bogota.

Parrots are favorites of birders and non-birders alike due to their bright colors, popularity as cage birds and they can be trained to talk. Colombia as you know has more species of birds than any other country. There are 56 species of parrots in Colombia. I photographed a dozen and we saw one or two more. The 5" Green-rumped Parrotlet (Forpus passerinus) is s sparrow-sized green parrot with a touch of blue in his wings.

Green-rumped Parrotlet

Parakeets are parrots with long pointed tails. The 15" Blue-crowned Parakeet (Thectocercus acuticaudatus) is a green parakeet with a large white eye ring and a blue forehead.

Blue-crowned Parakeet

The 9" Flame-winged Parakeet (Pyrrhura callipterra) is a Colombian endemic species. It is green with a brown ruffle around the neck and large yellow wing patches visible in flight. It is also known as the Brown-breasted Parakeet. This bird is listed as vulnerable and declining.

Flame-winged Parakeet

Here is another photo.

Flame-winged Parakeet

Unfortunately, we missed the rare endemic Santa Marta Parakeet.

Parrots usually have shorter square tails. The 9" Black-headed Parrot (Pionites melanocephalus) is a black and white and green and yellow parrot. It is an easy ID.

Black-headed Parrot

The 11" Blue-headed Parrot (Pionus menstruus) is also an easy ID. I have seen it multiple times.

Blue-headed Parrot

Amazons are the largest New World parrots except for the macaws. The 13" Orange-winged Amazon (Amazona amazonica) is all green with a few orange flight feathers.

Orange-winged Amazon

The 16" Southern Mealy Amazon (Amazona farinosa). It is green with some red flight feathers.

Southern Mealy Amazon

The largest are the macaws. The 18" Chestnut-fronted Macaw (Ara severus) is a colorful macaw with a brown forehead. This my best photo of this species.

Chestnut-fronted Macaw

Lastly, the 36" Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) is a huge stunning bird.

Scarlet Macaw

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

I have photos of 44 of the 177 species of New World and African Parrots

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2021 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.

Bulletin 256 - Costa Rica 2016 #1 - Parrots and Cuckoos

I made a return trip to Costa Rica in March to try for some birds I missed last year. I had a new guide, Johan Fernandez and we went to several new locales.

There are 2 macaw species in Costa Rica. I found one last year, and found the other, the 35" Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) this year.

Scarlet Macaw

The 9" Orange-fronted Parakeet (Eupsittula canicularis) is green with a tan throat and an orange forehead.

Orange-fronted Parakeet

The 10" White-fronted Amazon (Amazona albifrons) is green with a white forehead and red around the eye.

White-fronted Amazon

The 14" Yellow-naped Amazon (Amazona auropalliata) is green with a yellow patch on the back of his neck. This one has his head out of the nest hole.

Yellow-naped Amazon

The 18" Squirrel Cuckoo (Piaya cayana) is probably the most commonly seen cuckoo in the tropics. I think I have seen it on every trip. It has a rufous back and head, gray underparts and a long black and white tail.

Squirrel Cuckoo

The next 2 were both lifers for me. The 10" Lesser Ground Cuckoo (Morococcyx erythropygus) was only 15 feet away walking along the ground. It has amazing facial coloration. The bluish on the wings and tail does not show in the illustrations in the bird guide.

Lesser Ground Cuckoo

The 12" Striped Cuckoo (Tapera naevia) is brown with a plain breast and striped head. He has a rufous crest which I saw erected, but did not get in the photo.

Striped Cuckoo

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.