Bulletin 417 - Colombia 2022 #14 - Funarids Part 1

 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.

The funarids (ovenbirds) are a huge New World family of mostly brown birds So although most are not 'pretty', many are difficult to see well and even harder to photograph. The spinetails and foliage-gleaners are particularly difficult for me to photograph.

The easy ones are the woodcreepers as they climb the tree trunks searching for insects.

The 12" Strong-billed Woodcreeper (Xiphocolaptes promeropirhynchus) is a large woodcreeper with a thick bill.

Strong-billed Woodcreeper

The 8" Montane Woodcreeper (Lepidicolaptes lacrymiger) is reddish-brown above and heavily streaked below. 

Montane Woodcreeper

Cinclodes are another easy to see group as they live on the paramo, so are seen in the open on the ground or on fence posts. The 8" Stout-billed Cinclodes (Cinclodes excelsior) is an attractive brown bird with rusty wing patches and a striped face. He has a curved beak.

Stout-billed Cinclodes

The cute 4.5" Plain Xenops (Xenops minutus) is a common bird and seen on most of my trips. It has an upturned bill.

Plain Xenops

The 5.5" Ash-browed Spinetail (Cranioleuca curtata) has a light eye stripe. The book says that this bird usually works on the outer branches which makes it easier to see then most spinetails. I guess that is why I was able to get a photo.

Ash-browed Spinetail

His cousin the 5.5" Red-faced Spinetail (Cranioleuca erythrops) is distinctive with his reddish cheeks. This was my second time to photo this bird, but by far my best photo.

Red-faced Spinetail

The 6" Slaty Spinetail (Synallaxis brachyura) is an exception to funarids as he is charcoal colored with just rusty wings and crown.

Slaty Spinetail

The last one is the 7" Western Woodhaunter (Hyloctistes virgatus). The book describes this bird as uncommon and inconspicuous. I was very lucky as the bird appeared just as we were turning to go back to the lodge for dinner. It was at dusk and the light in the jungle was poor, but after several attempts to photo him, he popped into the open for a moment. This was a lifer for me.

Western Woodhaunter

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

I have photos of 40 of the 315 species of ovenbirds.

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 416 - Colombia 2022 #13 - Tanagers - Part 3

 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.

The tanager family (thraupidae) is another huge New World family of birds with 386 species currently. The range from the plain seedeaters to the gaudy Tangara genus of beautiful birds.

The juvenile male 7" Flame-rumped Tanager (Ramphocelus flammigerus) has a black head, back tails and winds. The underside is mostly yello. The rump is orange. The adult male would be all black except for the orange rump.

Flame-rumped Tanager - juvenile male

The 5" Glistening-green Tanager (Chlorochrysa phoenicotus) has been a tough bird for me. This was only my second time to see it and still not a wonderful photo. It is an easy ID.

Glistening-green Tanager

His cousin is the endemic 5" Multicolored Tanager (Chlorochrysa nitidissima). This beautiful bird was coming to feeders outside of Cali.

Multicolored Tanager

The next bird is the very common male 5.5" Green Honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza). The female is plain dull green. This male is more blue than green whereas the birds in Costa Rica are definitely green.

Green Honeycreeper

The 6" Superciliated Hemispingus (Hemispingus superciliaris) is an olive backed bird, with yellow underneath and a white eyebrow.

Superciliated Hemispingus

The 7" male White-lined Tanager (Tachyphonus rufus) is all black but for a white line on his shoulder.

White-lined Tanager - male

The female is rufus coloured - hence the Latin species name.

White-lined Tanager - female

Like many birds, the juvenile males appear the same as the females and when they are molting into their adult plumage, they are some of each color. Strange looking.

White-lined Tanager - juvenile male molting

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

I have photos of 118 of the 386 species of tanagers

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 415 - Colombia 2022 #12 - Tanagers - Part 2

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.

The tanager family (thraupidae) is another huge New World family of birds with 386 species currently. The range from the plain seedeaters to the gaudy Tangara genus of beautiful birds.

The 6.5" Blue-grey Tanager (Thraupis episcopus) is probably the most common tanager I have seen as I think I have seen it every trip. The range is from southern Mexico to Bolivia and Amazonia. It is also listed in Miami as an escaped cage bird. It is a beautiful bird and easily recognized. There is another variant with a white wing bar in the eastern part of the range. Maybe a split???

Blue-grey Tanager

The 6" Black-backed Bush-Tanager (Urothraupis stolzmanni) is listed as 'local and usually uncommon'. This was my second time to see it. We were on the same mountains Los Nevados.

Black-backed Bush-Tanager

The 4.5" Dull-colored Grassquit (Asemospiza obscura) is a plain grayish brown bird. The guide book says it has a pale lower mandible. So I looked online and I see some photos are like mine with an all black bill. It was IDed by my guide. It was a lifer.

Dull-colored Grassquit

Conebills are another group of tanagers. The 5.3" male Capped Conebill (Conirostrum albifrons) is a black bird with blue on the wings and a white cap.

Capped Conebill - male

The 6.8" male Crimson-backed Tanager (Ramphocelus dimidiatus) is a mostly red bird with a dark head and wings and a white lower mandible. This genus of tanagers is one of my favorites, as black and red colorations.

Crimson-backed Tanager - male

The 5" male Black-capped Tanager (Stilpnia heinei) is a beautiful blue and black bird that was formerly in the tangara genus. There were several 'tangara genus' tanagers moved to a different genus based on DNA studies.

Black-capped Tanager - male

The female is green with a speckled black cap.

Black-capped Tanager - female

Lastly is the beautiful 5.3" Silver-throated Tanager (Tangara icterocephala). This is another bird I remember from my first trip to Costa Rica in 1994. it is confined to the western slope of the Andes. However on an Ecuador trip, on the Amazonian slope we saw one and I photographed it. It was only the second record I could find for the Amazonian slope. It was a first at that lodge and the owner did not know what it was..hahahah

Silver-throated Tanager

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

I have photos of 118 of the 386 species of tanagers

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 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

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

Bulletin 413 - Colombia 2022 #10 - Tanagers - Part 1

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.

The tanager family (thraupidae) is another huge New World family of birds with 386 species currently. The range from the plain seedeaters to the gaudy Tangara genus of beautiful birds.

The 5" Bay-headed Tanager (Tangara gyrola) is a favorite of mine. On my first trip to the tropics in 1994 on a VENT tour to Costa Rica, it was the first bird I saw when we stopped the first morning. As it is on the cover of the guide book to Costa Rica I had been studying before the trip, I knew what it was. I have seen it many times since, but these are the best photos.

Bay-headed Tanager

Bay-headed Tanager

His cousin is the 5" Beryl-spangled Tanager (Tangara nigroviridis). No ID description is needed.

Beryl-spangled Tanager

The 5.3" male Paramo Seedeater (Catamenia homochroa) is a small dark gray bird with a rufous undertail and a light bill.

Paramo Seedeater - male

His cousin is the 5.3" male Plain-colored Seedeater (Catamenia inornata). It is a much lighter gray color. The females of both these species are brown.

Plain-colored Seedeater - male

The mountain tanagers are larger than the tangara tanagers and of course are restricted to the higher elevations. We saw 3 on the trip.

The 7" Lachrymose Mountain Tanager (Anisognathus lacrymosus) is blue on the black, yellow on the underside with a black face and a tiny yellow tear under his eye.

Lachrymose Mountain Tanager

His cousin is the 7" Blue-winged Mountain Tanager (Anisognathus somptuosus). He has a black face and back, mostly blue wings and tail and yellow below and a yellow nape.

Blue-winged Mountain Tanager

And the last one is the 7" Black-chinned Mountain Tanager (Anisognathus notabilis). He is similar to the one above, but his back is green and his underside is orange.

Black-chinned Mountain Tanager

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

I have photos of 118 of the 386 species of tanagers

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 412 - Colombia 2022 #9 - Guans and other non-passerines

 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 not so good photos before.

The cracidae family consists of about equal numbers of chachalacas, guans and curassows. The former are usually easy to see and come to feeders, but the curassows are some of the most difficult birds to find. All are spectacular due to their size.

The 20" Colombian Chachalaca (Ortalis columbiana) is an endemic. It is the only chachalaca in its range in the central and western Andes. The white tips of the breast feathers gives a scalloped look.

Columbian Chachalaca

Guans are similar but even larger. The 23" Andean Guan (Penelope montagnii) is much darker than the previous bird and the breast appears streaked rather than scalloped. I just love the genus name penelope - an old fashioned girls name.

Andean Guan

The last is the  25" Sickle-winged Guan (Chamaepetes goudotii). It is plain brown with a rufous belly.

Sickle-winged Guan

The next are single birds in each family that I photographed on the trip.

The 10" male Chestnut Wood-Quail (Odontophorus hyperythrus) was part of a covey of about 10 birds coming to a feeding station. These normally difficult to see birds are enchanting to see in the open and up close.

Chestnut Wood-Quail

Next is the 19" Andean Motmot (Momotus  aequatoralis). As you know motmots have racquet tails - with a bare shaft on the 2 long tail feathers before the racquet at the end of the tail. This is one of the 5 species that were split in the Blue-crowned Motmot complex. Here is the adult with the racquet tail. Another interesting habit is they swing their tails from side to side and not up and down like many birds.

Andean Motmot

So are they born with the racquet tail? No, here is a juvenile and his tail is normal. The adults strip the bare area themselves when preening. This is another wonder of nature!

Andean Motmot - juvenile

The only member of the trogon family for the trip was a 14" female Golden-headed Quetzal (Pharomachrus auriceps). She is the only quetzal in the Andes with a gray head and black undertail.

Golden-headed Quetzal - female

The last 2 birds were both lifers and surprising to find. I had never even heard of the 11" Spot-flanked Gallinule (Porphyriops melanops). It is mostly confined to Peru to Argentina but there is a small population in the mountains east of Bogota. It was in a pond in the middle of a cattle pasture - so I walked out to get the photo. It looks like our Common Gallinule but it has a greenish bill and shield and of course the white spots on the flank.

Spot-flanked Gallinule

The 13" Noble Snipe (Gallinago nobilis) was a special treat to see. It was in a boggy pasture and the farmer allowed us to go out to take the photos. The black line under the eye is diagnostic. Anytime I can find a snipe is always exciting.  This is the usual way that you see them - hunkered down in the grass. There are 7 snipes in South America and this was my second one to photograph.

Noble Snipe

But this one was wide open. The buffy spots on the tail are diagnostic for this species in the mountains.

Noble Snipe

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

I have photos of 18 of the 55 species of Chacalacas, Guans & Curassows

I have photos of 10 of the 34 species of New World Quail

I have photos of 10 of the 14 species of Motmots

I have photos of 20 of the 138 species of Rails and Gallinules

I have photos of 51 of the 93 species of Sandpipers

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.