Tag: Birds

Slaty-tailed Trogon Trogon massena Slaty-tailed Trogon from a Canopy Tower window, by Jenn Sinasac The Slaty-tailed Trogon is a large trogon, 32 cm in length. Males are metallic green on their head and chest, dark teal on wings with fine gray vermiculations, a dark tail with no white lines, and is distinguished from other trogons by its orange bill and eye ring. Females are dark gray overall with an orange lower mandible and base of bill. Both sexes have a conspicuous red belly. Slaty-tailed Trogons are common in Panama on both slopes, in lowland and foothills forest up to 1400 meters in elevation. They live in the mid-level and canopy of the forest, regularly come to forest clearings and edges, and also can be found in mangroves. They are usually found singly or in pairs. They sit upright and do not move for often long periods of time, occasionally making sallying flights from their branch to pluck fruits or insects. They even eat small lizards on occasion. Slaty-tailed Trogons have a commensal relationship with foraging White-faced Capuchins, taking advantage of dispersing insects flushed by the monkeys. Although they consume the seeds of plants and fruits, they are not known to be overly effective seed dispersers. Despite the fact that they can be overlooked by their inactivity, they are quite vocal, giving a series of low-pitched clucking “cuh” notes and announcing their presence. In Panama, Slaty-tailed Trogons breed from February to July. Males and females engage in a courtship display which involves bowing, raising of tails and exposing red undertail coverts. Like other trogons, Slaty-tailed Trogons are cavity nesters. They nest in rotting stumps and termitaria, 2-15 meters above the ground. Both sexes work on excavating the nesting cavity with their stout bills, and during their breeding season, it is common

Long-billed Hermit Phaethornis longirostris Photo by Arthur Morris The long bill and long tail of the Long-billed Hermit make it a “large” hummingbird, at 15 cm in length.  This species is well-named, as the bill itself is nearly 4 cm long! The Long-billed Hermit has brown upperparts and pale underparts; its cinnamon rump distinguishes it from other species of hermits in its range.  It has a black mask with a white post-ocular stripe, and a long, decurved bill.  It also has elongated central tail feathers with white tips. Hermits are distinctive, dull-colored hummingbirds with long, decurved bills. They live in the dark understory of Neotropical forests. They are trap-liners—instead of defending a territory, they make long routes through the forest and visit flowering plants along the way. These routes can be up to 1 km long! As they journey through the understory, they give a loud “sweep” call, announcing their presence. Like other hummingbirds, they feed on nectar and consume insects and spiders, especially during the breeding season. They feed on nectar from Heliconia and passion flowers (Passiflora), among others, and have a key role in pollination, as some flowers have adapted especially to their long, curved bills. Males sing in leks with up to 25 birds. They lek throughout most of the year to attract females to mate.  Leks are easily detectable, as males singing from a perch give a sharp “whik”, repeated every second, and wag their tail, signaling with the white tip. Females select the best singer to mate. Like other lekking birds, after mating, males do not partake in parental care and females are responsible for nest building, incubating and raising the young. The female builds a nest of dried grasses and moss, attached to the underside of a palm frond or Heliconia leaf 1.2-1.5 meters

Yellow-eared Toucanet Selenidera spectabilis Photo by Rafael Lau The Yellow-eared Toucanet is a shy resident of the foothills of Central America and northwestern South America.  This unique member of the toucan family has all black underparts, chestnut thighs and a red vent.  Its back and wings are olive green, and like other toucans and toucanets, it has a long bill, bicolored yellow and black.  Its red eye is surrounded by green and yellow bare skin; this skin is bluish and brighter in the male.  Males have a conspicuous yellow ear patch which is absent in females, and females have a chestnut crown and nape.  At 38 cm, Yellow-eared Toucanets are the largest member of their genus. The Yellow-eared Toucanet forages in all levels of the forest, but spends most of its time concealed in the upper levels of the forest, where its presence is detected most often by its dry, clacking croak, a grating sound similar to that of the Keel-billed Toucan.  When calling, it tilts its head back and cocks its tail up and bows over with each grating croak, a behavior often exhibited by other species of toucans. Yellow-eared Toucanets eat fleshy fruits and occasionally animals such as lizards, insects and spiders.  They forage individually, in pairs or in small groups.  Like other toucans, they nest in tree cavities excavated by woodpeckers or by natural causes. Both parents care for the young birds, usually 2 to 4 offspring, during the entire rearing process from incubation to independence.  While not much is known, they may make post-breeding season movements into the lowlands.  Yellow-eared Toucanets are known to live up to 20 years in the wild. This attractive toucanet ranges from south Honduras to northwestern Ecuador.  In Panama, it is found in the foothills from 450 to 1050 meters in

Black-crowned Antshrike Thamnophilus atrinucha Photo by Lee Dalton Formerly known as Western Slaty-Antshrike, this medium-sized antbird is a common resident of the lowland forests of Panama.  It is a true antbird in the family Thamnophilidae, a large and diverse family of Neotropical birds.  The male is mostly gray in plumage with a black crown and bold white spots on shoulders and tip of tail.  The female is similar to the male but brown overall in coloration. Black-crowned Antshrikes are bold and inquisitive.  They forage, often in pairs, in the lower levels of the forest and forest edges, occasionally climbing into the canopy, and often with mixed feeding flocks of antwrens if passing through their territory.  They will also forage with army ant swarms within their territory, but they stay on the periphery of the swarm.  They are insectivorous, and catch a wide variety of arthropods (and occasionally small lizards) with their fairly thick, hooked bill.  They forage by gleaning, reaching, sallying at live and dead leaves, and will also forage in leaf litter on the forest floor.  A pair defends their territory aggressively year round; aggressive displays involve exposing the white patch on their back (as many antbirds do) and movements from side to side, giving a snarl call.  They will often physically fight with each other.  Disputes are settled by singing.  They are quite vocal, singing throughout the day and and make a variety of nasal call notes, trills and accelerating rolls, often with a sharp, accented last note. Black-crowned Antshrikes form long-term pair bonds.  They have long breeding seasons, small clutch sizes, extended parental care and delayed dispersal of young.  Nests can be found at any time of the year, but peak breeding season is April-June.  The nest is an open cup fastened in the fork of tree

White-whiskered Puffbird Malacoptila panamensis Photo by Doug Weschler A relative of kingfishers, puffbirds are well-named for their “puffy” appearance—large head and round body, short neck and tail and long, stout bill.  The White-whiskered Puffbird is a common resident of the forest understory; however, due to its habit of perching silently for extended periods of time, it is easily overlooked.  At 18 cm in length, it is a relatively small member of the family Bucconidae.  Males and females are similar in plumage but can be distinguished—males are rufous-brown above with light brown spotting on wings and back, bright tawny throat and chest, and streaked underparts.  Females are slightly grayer above with less streaking below.  Both males and females have prominent white tufts on the face, forming “whiskers” on the sides of the bill. White-whiskered Puffbirds perch motionless in the lower levels of the forest and are usually rather tame, allowing close approach.  They are often found in pairs, and are generally silent; however, will give a high, thin whistle.  They feed on insects and small vertebrates including lizards and frogs, and sometimes attend army ant swarms and occasionally feed in mixed feeding flocks.  Breeding season for White-whiskered Puffbirds is from May to August in Panama.  Like their kingfisher and motmot cousins, they nest in burrows on banks or slightly sloping ground.  Cavities are excavated by the pair and are up to 56 cm long; adults line the cavity with dead leaves, as well as disguise the entrance hole.  The female lays 2 glossy white eggs; the males incubate the eggs at night and females incubate during the day.  When the chicks hatch, the male broods the chicks and the female brings food to the nestlings.  After 7 days, the chicks are less accompanied by the male.  Although altricial, chicks are mobile

Black-and-white Owl Ciccaba nigrolineata Photo by Carlos Bethancourt The Black-and-white Owl is an impressive, large owl found throughout most of Central America from Mexico into northwest South America.  Standing 35-40 cm tall, this owl can be distinguished by its blackish upperparts and white underparts with fine black bars.  Its face and crown are black with speckled white eyebrows, and lacks feather tufts.  It has dark eyes, and bright yellow-orange bill and legs.  Males and females look the same, but like most other owls, females are larger than males.  Black-and-white Owls can be found in tropical lowland evergreen forest up to 2100 meters in elevation.  They are strictly nocturnal, and remain well-hidden in thick brush during the day, solitary or in pairs.  They feed on small vertebrates, mainly bats, mice and birds, as well as large insects and arthropods.  Since they prefer to feed on aerial prey, they hunt primarily in the canopy of the forest.  Some individuals even become accustomed to feeding on insects and bats attracted to street lights in quiet partially wooded suburbs.  Nesting begins in late March; females lay 1-2 eggs in abandoned bird or mammal nest, bromeliad clump or tree cavity, in the tallest trees of the forest; eggs hatch in late April.  Black-and-white Owls are rather vocal, giving a series of loud, barking hoots and an unusual cat-like scream.  On occasion, a Black-and-white Owl is seen outside the dining room and lounge windows of the Canopy Tower; we believe that it is attracted to the insects brought in by the black light we turn on at night, as well as bats flying around the lights in the parking lot after dark.  It often perches quite close, and does not seem overly wary of people!  We also commonly see and hear Black-and-white Owls in the immediate

Tufted Flycatcher Mitrephanes phaeocercus Photo by David Tipling A small, plump flycatcher of the wooded foothills, the cute Tufted Flycatcher is olive-green above with 2 grayish-olive wing bars, an ochre-orange breast and distinct pointed crest.  It perches on small branches in the mid-story of the forest, periodically making sallying flights for small insects, similar to wood-pewees.  It frequently calls, giving a series of high pip notes.  It ranges throughout the Pacific slope of Central America and northwest South America from Mexico to Ecuador.  This resident species is one of the many flycatchers that can be encountered in Panama, and is common in the cloud forest surrounding the Canopy Lodge. Rare Sighting: Tufted Flycatcher is an occasional vagrant to the southern U.S., and there have been several records of this species in Arizona and Texas.

Semiplumbeous Hawk Leucopternis semiplumbeus Photo by Cedric Ng The Semiplumbeous Hawk is a medium-sized raptor about 15 to 16 inches tall.  Its back is uniformly dark grey or “plumbeous,” meaning lead-colored.  The throat, chest & belly are pure white on adult birds but, on immatures, the chest shows very fine grey streaking.  The relatively short, dark tail has two white bands, one at mid-tail which is quite conspicuous and another at the base which is often concealed.  The legs, cere and the base of the bill are orange.  The underside of the wings is whitish. This hawk may easily be mistaken for other raptors, especially “light phase” Short-tailed Hawks (Buteo brachyurus), which have yellow ceres (not orange) and do not show broad white tail bands, and forest-falcons, like the Slaty-backed (Micrastur mirandollei) and Collared (Micrastur semitorquatus), both of which have noticeably longer tails. The Semiplumbeous Hawk uses the “sit-and-wait” hunting technique, whereby it patiently perches quietly about 20 feet high and slowly scans for prey.  Another interesting hunting technique employed by this clever hawk is to follow troops of White-faced Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus capucinus).  While the frolicking monkeys forage through the forest canopy, they disturb other creatures, including lizards, which are then caught by the ever-vigilant hawk.  A rather sneaky technique indeed!  Small reptiles are on the menu, including Whiptail Lizards (Ameiva spp.), geckos, anoles and small snakes. This raptor prefers the interior humid forests of eastern Panama and the Caribbean slope of the Canal.  Interestingly, they are seldom seen soaring high like other hawks, but are often spotted streaking across the forest just above the canopy layer.  They may be observed perched up on the canopy or lower on an exposed perch. This resident and spectacular hawk is often found along Pipeline Rd., where the photo above was taken. It