Xenornis

Attached are some shots of Jabiru from Canopy Tower on May 2. See: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23187518 . Black Swift tally: 24 Apr (1), 25 Apr (1), both at Tranquilo Bay lodge. Others (6+) at Boca Rio Changuinola 26 Apr, and one at Canopy Tower 3 May. I have photos of 25 Apr and 26 Apr birds and one passing the Canopy Tower 3 May was photographed by Tim Lenz.

Not content with finding the first nesting records of Black Swift for Panama , Craig Bennett has now added a new species to the Panama list: Spot-fronted Swift . On May 15, while checking on the previously discovered Black (?) Swifts, with Dan Wade and Lloyd Cripe, that I reported earlier, I found another swift nesting behind a waterfall in the same area. This one is clearly a Spot-fronted Swift as no other swift has these bold white spots on the face. As far as I know, this bird has been reported only in Costa Rica, Colombia and Venezuela, but never in Panama. Thanks to Lloyd's talent at digiscoping we have these high quaity photos. The location is the Bajo Mono area above Boquete. Elevation is approximately 5800 feet.  Attached is also a digiscoped photo of my previously reported swift. I've included it because the quality is so much better than the photo I originally provided. Maybe it will provide more support for the tentative Black Swift identification. ...

Thank you all for your research and ideas regarding the Cypseloides Swift photo. It appears that the concensus so far is Black Swift. In the category of more data is better, I attach a new photo I took a couple days ago at a waterfall I hadn't visited before. It appears to be the same species with the pattern of white markings on the face the same as the previous photo. The search continues - I'll keep you posted. This would be the second breeding record in Panama of this rare, but apparently overlooked, species. The first breeding record from Costa Rica is pretty recent , so if I were you I'd be peeking behind every waterfall I run into.

On April 30, Eric Horvath sent in the following photos of Cypseloides swifts taken in Caldera: The photo above is a Black Swift, Cypseloides niger , from along the Rio Chiriqui near the Caldera hot springs, 15 April 2014. Also on 15 April at this location was the following swift which appears to be White-chinned Swift, Cypseloides cryptus . Intriguing as these may be, on May 6, Craig Bennett sent in an even better record: The attached photo was taken by me yesterday at a waterfall in the Boquete area. The nest is located behind the veil of the falls under an overhang. After looking at the local field guides and Chantlers book on Swifts, I'm confident that this is a nesting Cypseloides Swift. It's too early in the nesting season for it to be an immature bird, so it must be an adult. And because it's an adult I've ruled out Chestnut-collared and White-collared Swifts for obvious reasons. It would appear it must be either Black Swift or W...

It's only natural for a couple of rarities to pop up after five days of 90+ birders combing central panama for all things avian. Highlights include Red-tailed Hawk and Black Swift at the Canopy Tower, Ornate Hawk-Eagle at Achiote Road, Yellow-green Tyrannulet both at the base of Semaphore Hill and at the Metropolitan Nature Park, Great Jacamar on Pipeline Road, and Tody Motmots at El Valle.

Dr. Robert Ridgely, in Panama with a VENT group, saw ten Black Swifts flying north from the Canopy Tower.