Bulletin 422 - Brazil 2023 #3 - rails, plovers, snipe

 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.

We notched an astounding 5 species of rails on the trip and 4 were new for me. The  11" Blackish Rail (Pardirallus nigricans) was the one I had seen in Colombia. It has a charcoal head and breast with brown wings and a yellow bill.

Blackish Rail 

There were 2 new species of wood rails. These are the easiest to see as often they are  walking around  in the open. The 15" Grey-cowled Wood Rail (Aramides cajaneus). This rail is IDed by the brown body and grey neck and head. It was split from Grey-necked Wood Rail.

Grey-cowled Wood Rail

His cousin the Slaty-breasted Wood Rail (Aramides saracura) is similar but is completely grey on his breast and belly.

Slaty-breasted Wood Rail

The most exciting were a couple of crakes coming to a feeding station in Intervales Park. They are normally exceedingly difficult to see. The 6" Red-and-white Crake (Laterallus leucopyrrhus) is a sparrow-sized rail with a rufous head and back with a clean white breast and barred belly. The legs are pink. He has a short bill.

Red-and-white Crake

His cousin, the 6" Rufous-sided Crake (Laterallus melanophaius) has a grey-brown head and back. The rusty flanks appear faded compared to the previous one. His bill and legs are dark. You can see form the background that they were both at the same place. Seeing these 2 crakes in the open for a period of time was one of the highlights of the trip. There are 13 crakes in this genus in the Americas and these were the first 2 I have ever seen. 

Now that this place has shown that these elusive birds can be trained to come for free food - I hope other sanctuaries will attempt to make these rails easier to see. This is the same as with the antpittas that were found to come for worms to a feeding station, so many other places set up feeding stations for their local antpittas.

Rufous-sided Crake

The final member of the rail family was a group of 3 12" Purple Gallinules (Porphyrio martinica). One was an adult, but the other 2 at first we thought were Azure Gallinules. But the buffy face and some purple on the flanks show it is an immature. We do not see the molting birds like this in the USA

Purple Gallinule - molting juvenile

The elegant 14" Southern Lapwing (Vanellus chilensis) is an easy ID with his wispy crest, black breast and red legs.

Southern Lapwing

The dapper 9" Pied Plover (Hoploxypterus cayanus) is a South American bird found around ponds and on sand bars along rivers, as was this one in the Pantanal.

Pied Plover

Lastly, another new snipe, the 11" Pantanal Snipe (Gallinago paraguaiae). The name was recently changed from South American Snipe. Like all snipes, the guide book says it is difficult to see. However with my luck, it was in the open on a muddy area about 10 yards away. We watched him for about 15 minutes.

Pantanal Snipe

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

I have photos of 24 of the 132 species of Rails, Coots, Gallinules.

I have photos of 31 of the 67 species of Plovers

I have photos of 52 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.

Bulletin 421 - Brazil 2023 #2 - icterids

 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.

The icterids are a  family of 109 species of New World birds consisting of blackbirds, orioles, cowbirds, grackles etc. I photographed 9 species of which 7 were lifers for me.

The 7.5" Greyish Baywing (Agelaioides badius) is grey-brown with rufous wings.

Greyish Baywing

The 9" Chopi Blackbird (Gnorimopsar chopi) is an all black icterid that isn't glossy. It is the only member of that genus.

Chopi Blackbird

The 8" Epaulet Oriole (Icterus cayanensis) is a black oriole with an orange shoulder patch.

Epaulet Oriole

The 13" Giant Cowbird (Molothus oryzivorus) is a glossy black bird wit a yellow eye. It parasitizes oropendolas.

Giant Cowbird

There were 3 species of caciques for the trip. 2 were lifers. The 9" Solitary Cacique (Cacicus solitarius) I had seen previously. It is a black bird with a pale yellow bill.

Solitary Cacique

The 9" Red-rumped Cacique (Cacicus haemorrhous) was a lifer, but I thought I had seen it before - but the previous one was the Scarlet-rumped Cacique. It is an easy ID.

Red-rumped Cacique

The 7" Golden-winged Cacique (Cacicus chrysopterus) has a large yellow wing patch, a yellow rump and a yellow eye.

Golden-winged Cacique

The 9.5" Yellow-rumped Marshbird (Pseudoleistes guirahuro) is yellow and brown.

Yellow-rumped Marshbird

The 9.5" Scarlet-headed Blackbird (Amblyramphus holosericeus) is a stunningly beautiful bird and an easy ID.

Scarlet-headed Blackbird

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

I have photos of 58 of the 109 species of icterids

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 420 - Brazil 2023 #1 - Cracids

 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.

The 57 species of cracids are turkey like game birds. We saw 6 on the trip which was a record for me on a single trip. 

The 23"  Chaco Chachalaca (Ortalis canicollis) is plain brown with red facial skin and a red throat.

Chaco Chachalaca

The 27" White-throated Piping Guan (Pipile grayi) was split from the Blue-throated Piping Guan in January 2023. It is an easy ID with the white face and throat.

White-throated Piping Guan

The 27" Red-throated Piping Guan (Pipile cujubi) is similar except the throat dewlap is red.

Red-throated Piping Guan

The 28" Dusky-legged Guan (Penelope obscura) is a brown bird with white streaking on breast and belly. He has a red dewlap. This one is in the Atlantic Forest.

Dusky-legged Guan

The 30" Chestnut-bellied Guan (Penelope ochrogaster) has a beautiful orange-brown belly and thighs. This one is in the Pantanal.

Chestnut-bellied Guan

Lastly is the regal 37" Bare-faced Curassow (Crax fasciolata). The male is all black with a 2 tone bill. He has bare black skin on the face and a curly feathered crest. In the Pantanal at the lodges where protected, they are very tame and come to feeders for corn.

Bare-faced Curassow - male

The female is spectacular with brown underparts and the crest is black and white.

Bare-faced Curassow - female

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

I have photos of 24 of the 57 species of Chacalacas, Guans & Curassows

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 419 - Colombia 2022 #16 - other birds

  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.

These are the last photos from this 2022 trip.

There were 4 icterids (blackbirds) on the trip. The endemic 12" Red-bellied Grackle (Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster) is a top target bird in Colombia. It is an easy ID.

Red-bellied Grackle

The 8.5" Yellow-backed Oriole (Icterus chrysater) has a yellow to orange body and black face, wings and tail.

Yellow-backed Oriole

The 19" Russet-backed Oropendola (Psarocolius augustifrons) is an olive bird with a browner back.

Russet-backed Oropendola

The 8" female Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) is all gray with the typical round bill of icterids. The male would be all black.

Shiny Cowbird

The 9" Tropical Mockingbird (Mimus gilvus) is similar to our mockingbird. However it is the only mockingbird in Colombia so is an easy ID.

Tropical Mockingbird

The 5" Sulphur-rumped Myiobius (Myiobius sulphureipygius) is a dull yellow olive bird. It was formerly in the flycatcher family, but was moved to the becard family.

Sulphur-rumped Myiobius

And the last is the male 7.5" Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus). This is a familiar bird to US birders as he occurs in western USA. The ID is easy. But this was the closest I have been to this bird - 6 feet away.

Acorn Woodpecker

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 418 - Colombia 2022 #15 - Tanagers - Part 4

 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 last group of tanagers are some of the most colorful. We have 4 with the name 'golden'.

The 5.3" male Golden Tanager (Tangara arthus) is gold with a black streaked back and wings and a black ear spot.

Golden Tanager 

The 5.3" male Golden-eared Tanager (Tangara chrysotis) is a multi-colored tanager with a gold and black face.

Golden-eared Tanager

The 6.5" Golden-crowned Tanager (Iridosornis rufivertex) is a blue bodied tanager with a black head and gold cap.

Golden-crowned Tanager

The 5" Golden-naped Tanager (Chalcothraupis ruficervix) is similar in color to the previous one, but the gold is on the occiput.

Golden-naped Tanager

The 5" male Saffron-crowned Tanager (Tangara xanthocephala) ia another beautiful multi-colored bird.

Saffron-crowned Tanager

The 6" male Tawny-crested Tanager (Tachyphonus delatrii) is an all black bird with  a tan crest.

Tawny-crested Tanager 

The final tanager is the 5" Rufous-throated Tanager (Ixothraupis rufigula). This bird is an easy ID with his black head and back, spotted breast and orange throat.

 Rufous-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 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.