Xenornis

The ongoing Audubon Panama/Boquete Birders fieldtrip to Boquete has been very productive so far. Yesterday we got 2 Quetzals, 2 Costa Rican Pygmy-Owls (one rufous, one brown), one Black-billed Cuckoo (very good sighting, they are VERY rare...) and several Elegant Euphonias , among other birds. We had a very nice weather, with some migrants (lots of Swainson's Thrushes, many Wilson's Warblers). We also had two sightings of Maroon-chested Ground-Dove . All these on the road up Volcan Barú. 

Also in Chiriquí this weekend was Björn Anderson, who heard two Maroon-chested Ground-Doves and flushed one while at Alto Pineda on Saturday, November 13.

I've been in the Volcan area for the last few days with my family, and have managed to sneak some birding in between the family fun (sometimes the two things go hand-in-hand!). I came here with a few particular target birds among the residents, but North American migrants have stolen the show—a revelation for me, as this is the first time I have spent time in Chiriqui at this time of year. Yesterday, 22/10, we visited Finca Dracula, where I found my number one target, a male Maroon-chested Ground-Dove that revealed itself briefly near the bamboo stands along the entry road. This was topped by a Blue-headed Vireo I found later in the morning in the gardens. I saw the bird well, at eye level and not 3 meters away. I identified it without thinking, as I saw thousands of these in my time in New York. When I thought about it for a minute in the context of Panama I chased the bird, and confirmed my i.d. Also noteworthy was the presence of dozens of Slaty Finches at their seed feed...

A few of us Boquete Birders saw both a Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl and a Maroon-chested Ground-Dove during a recent bird outing [August 10]. Our elevation was about 2100 meters where the pair (male and female) of ground doves were spotted. The area has thick stands of bamboo growing alongside the road. The ground doves “calling” is what drew our attention to them. Unfortunately I was unable to catch a photo of the ground doves as they moved about. We spotted the owl perched and at a slightly lower elevation along the road. We were viewing a Scintillant Hummingbird when the owl was noticed directly behind and a few feet away. About the ground-dove, Craig Bennett says: As for the ground-doves we were watching, I can only come to the same conclusion we had in the field - Maroon-chested Ground-Dove. In the poor light conditions of the first bird we observed the clearest characteristic I noted was the two solid wing bars. The Costa Rica book says "the only CR dove with wing bars; a...

A group from New Orleans—David Muth, Phillip Wallace, Dan Purrington and Mike Tifft— visited Panama July 31-Aug 10. We hit Plantation Rd. (photos and video of calling So. Bentbill), Rainforest Discovery Center and Pipeline Rd. (Blue Cotinga, Scaly-throated Leaftosser) while in Gamboa (2 nights at Soberiana Research Station). After that we went west to Fortuna and Finca la Suiza (2 nights). From there we visited Willie Mazu ( Barred Hawk , but otherwise rain and fogged optics) and the area up at the continental divide ( Brown-billed Scythebill ). Then west to Los Quetzales in Chiriqui-- 3 nights. We stayed up at Cabinas #9. From there we went to El Valle, and stayed at Canopy Tower 2 nights, then a night at Albrook Inn. Despite our short visit, we were delighted to get a half day tour from Danilo Rodriguez. The morning walk up the El Convento Trail was slowed by rain, but still memorable. Danilo made it up to us by meeting us at 5 p.m. and showing us, in short order, Mottled Owls, Tod...

Acabamos de llegar luego de pasar cuatro días en Chiriquí. El viernes 12 de marzo, Gloriela y yo manejamos hasta Puerto Armuelles y más allá, pasando las Petroterminales... lo único que tengo que reportar es que los Riverside Wrens fueron muy fáciled de localizar (y ver) justo después de la garita trasera de las Petroterminales ya que llamaban constantemente (a pesar que fue en la tarde, con el sol muy caliente). Ese día nos reunimos con Rafael Luck, Osvaldo Quintero, Osvaldo Quintero hijo, Milagros Sánchez y Olmedo Miró en Boquete con el fin de buscar los Campaneros al día siguiente, los cuales vimos en Alto Chiquero. Ese mismo día, en horas de la tarde (prácticamente 6:00 pm) caminando en el área de Horqueta (1995 msnm) observé por nos segundos una tortolita de contextura robusta y con dos claras barras alares violáceas posada en el borde del camino a medio metro del suelo, cuando voló reveló anchas esquinas blancas en la cola (vistas por Rafael y Osvaldo hijo) confirmando que se...

Advantage Tours' Euclides Campos sent in five months worth of notable bird reports: January 7, 2008: Euclides Campos and Dimas Alfonso spotted a Red-tailed hawk on the way to Chucantí [at the border between the provinces of Panamá and Darién] around 400m above sea level. We saw the bird perched on the top of a dead snag 25 m away, from where it flew off and started circling overhead. The red tail and dark mark along the leading edge of the underwing, the patagium mark were conspicuous. It is not the first time that I, Euclides, have seen a Red tailed hawk in Chucantí; I saw one last year. January 18: Yellow-breasted Flycatcher on on the road to Revesa (the turnoff of this road is located at the town of Río Iglesia, on the way to Puerto Quimba, Metetí.) I have also seen this flycatcher at the town of Kintin town (7 km from Setegantí, Darién in 2007.) [Yellow-breasted Flycatcher, a recent addition to Panama's—and A.O.U. North America's—birdlist, has only recently been repo...